1. As far as the origins of the words are concerned, English words can be classified into ___B__.
A. content words and functional words
B. native words and borrowed words
C. basic words and borrowed words
D. loan words and dialectal words
2. A word is __A___ of a language that has a given sound and meaning and syntactic function.
A. a minimal free form
B. a basic part
C. a minimal element
D. a free element
3. English lexicology embraces ___A__, semantics, etymology, stylistics, and lexicography.
A. morphology
B. phonology
C. syntax
D. pragmatics
4. The internal reason for the difference between sound and form is _D____.
A. innovations made by linguists
B. influence of the work of scribes
C. stabilization of spelling by printing
D. the fact of more phonemes than letters in English
5. The relationship between sound and meaning is ___C__ and conventional.
A. logical
B. objective
C. arbitrary
D. consistent
6. Pronouns and __C___ are semantically monosemous and have limited productivity and collocability.
A.adverbs
B. adjectives
C. numerals
D. prepositions
7. Which of the following is not a functional word? D
A.through
B. But
C. they
D. four
8. Listed in the course book are _C____ features of native words.
A.Five
B. Six
C. seven
D. eight
9._A____ are borrowed words which have retained their original pronunciation and spelling.
A. Aliens
B. Denizens
C. Semantic-loans
D. Neologisms
10. The words borrowed from French or Latin are mostly _B____.
A. neutral
B. formal
C. colloquial
D. informal
11. There was _A___ agreement between sound and form in Old English than in Modern English.
A.more
B. little
C. less
D. a bit more
12. Nonbasic vocabulary includes all of the following except __B___.
A. neologisms
B. Anglo-Saxon words
C. archaisms
D. technical terms
II. Complete the following statements with proper words or expressions given in the course book.
1. Etymology is traditionally used for the study of the _____ and history of the form and meaning of words. origins
2. There are generally two approaches to the study of words, namely __________ and diachronic. synchronic
3. English lexicology is a ___ course and a practical course as well. Theoretically-oriented
4. Lexicology is a branch of linguistics, inquiring into the origins and _____ of words. meanings
5. __________ is the study of style. It is concerned with the user?s choices of linguistic elements in a particular context for special effects. Stylistics
6. A word is a minimal free form of a language that has a given sound and ___________ and syntactic function. meaning
7. A word is a _________ that stands for something else in the world. symbol
8. All the words in a language make up its _____. vocabulary
9. The basic word stock is the foundation of the vocabulary accumulated over centuries and forms the common ____________ of the language. core
10. Words may fall into content words and functional words by _____. notion
11. _____ generally refers to the jargon of criminals. Argot
12. The word “internet” is a____, but the word “calculus” is a technical term. neologism
13. Native words are words brought to Britain in the fifth century by the __ tribes. Germanic
14.According to the degree of ________ and manner of borrowing, we can bring the loan-words under four classes. assimilation
15. _________ are words borrowed early in the past and now are well assimilated into the English language. Denizens
III. Decide whether the following statements are true or false.
1. A word is the smallest meaningful unit of a language. F
2. In different languages the same concept can be represented by different sounds. T
3. Under no circumstances can sound and meaning be logically related. F
4. Prepositions, conjunctions, numerals and articles all belong to functional words. F
5. Lexicography shares with lexicology the same problems: the form, meaning, origins and usages of words. T
6. Content words are numerous and more frequently used than functional words on average. F
7. The basic word stock enjoys the same features as native words. F (nat.7, bas.5)
8. It is estimated that English borrowings constitute 80 percent of the modern English vocabulary. T
9. The expression of “black humour” from “humour noir” is regarded as a semantic-loan. F（tran.) 10. The word “port” from “portus” is a translation-loan . F(sem.)
11. Such words as kowtow, bazaar and ketchup are aliens. F (ketchup tran.)
12. Words of Anglo-Saxon origin are small in number, amounting to roughly 50,000 to 60,000. T 13. A word can be defined in different ways from different points of view. T
14.When the word “persuader” means “dagger”(匕首）, it is regarded as an argot word. T
15.Words of the basic word stock are mostly root words or monosyllabic words. T
IV. Answer the following questions.
1. What is the publicly accepted definition of a word?
(1) a minimal free form of a language;(2) a sound unity;(3) a unit of meaning;(4) a form that can function alone in a sentence.Therefore, we can say that …a word is a minimal free form of a language that has a given sound and meaning and syntactic function?.
2. What accounts for the differences between sound and form?
four major reasons. The internal reason for this is that there are more phonemes than letters in English. Another reason is that the pronunciation has changed more rapidly than spelling. The third reason is that some of the differences were created by the early scribes. The fourth reason is borrowing.
3. What is the relationship between sound and meaning? Give examples to illustrate it.
The relationship between sound and meaning is almost always arbitrary and conventional, and there is no logical relationship between sound and meaning. The same concept can be represented by different sounds in different languages. For example, …woman? becomes …Frau? in German and …femme? in French. On the other hand, the same sound /mi:t/ is used to mean …meat?, …meet?, and …mete?.
4. How are English words classified?
English words can be classified by different criteria and for different purposes. They may fall into the basic word stock and nonbasic vocabulary by use frequency, into content words and functional words by notion, and into native words and borrowed words by origin.
5. What is the difference between denizens and aliens?
Denizens which are words borrowed early in the past are now well assimilated into the English language and have come to conform to the English way of pronunciation and spelling, but aliens are borrowed words which have retained their original pronunciation and spelling and are immediately recognizable as foreign in origin.
1. The prehistoric Indo-European parent language is thought to be a highly __D___ language
A. advanced
B. developed
C. complicated
D. inflected
2. The following languages are all Germanic except __A___.
A.Scottish
B. Swedish
C. Flemish
D. Danish
3. In the Western set, Greek is the modern language derived from ___B__.
A.Italic
B. Hellenic
C. Celtic
D. Germanic
4. Words such as Kent, London, bin and crag are from __A___.
A.Celtic
B. Germanic
C. Scandinavian
D. Latin
5. We find the following languages in the Italic except _C____.
A.Spanish
B. Roumanian
C. Norwegian
D. Portuguese
6. The early inhabitants of the British Isles were __B___.
A.Germans
B. Celts
C. Scandinavians
D. Romans
7. It is estimated that at least _C____ words of Scandinavian origin have survived in Modern English.
A.1200
B. 1000
C. 900
D. 800
8. The word “candle” came from __D____.
A.French
B. Danish
C. Celtic
D. Latin
9. Old English began to undergo a great change when the _D____ invaded England in 1066.
A.Romans
B. Angles
C. Danes
D. Normans
10. Between 1250 and 1500 about __B___ words of French origin poured into English.
A.8000
B. 9000
C. 10000
D. 12000
11. Modern English is regarded as a/an __A___ language.
A.analytic
B. inflected
C. synthetic
D. advanced
12. In modern times, __C___ is considered to be the most important way of vocabulary expansion.
A. semantic change
B. meaning change
C. creation
D. borrowing
1. The language of the early inhabitants of the British Isles is ________. Celtic
2. World languages can be grouped into roughly ________ language families on the basis of similarities in the basic word stock and grammar. 300
3. Norwegian, Icelandic, Danish and _________ are generally known as Scandinavian languages. Swedish
4. The second major language known in England was the ________ of the Roman Legions(军团）. Latin
5. Now people generally refer to ______ as Old English. Anglo-Saxon
6. The introduction of _____________ at the end of 6th century had a great impact on the English vocabulary. Christianity
7. Old English was a highly inflected language just like modern ___________. German
8. In the 9th century the land was invaded again by Norwegian and ____________Vikings.
Danish 9. Modern English began with the establishment of ________ in England. Printing 10. In the early period of Modern English, Europe saw a new upsurge of learning ancient ________ and Roman classics. Greek
11. English has evolved from a _____ language ( Old English ) to the present analytic language. synthetic
12. Modern English vocabulary develops through three channels: creation, _________ change, and borrowing. semantic
13. Reviving ________ or obsolete words also contributes to the growth of English vocabulary though quite insignificant. archaic
14. In modern English, word ________ were mostly lost with just a few exceptions. endings
15. Creation refers to the formation of new words by using the existing materials, namely roots, _________ and other elements. affixes
1. The surviving languages of the Indo-European language family fall into ten principal groups, which can be grouped into an Eastern set and a Western set. F
2. Celtic is generally known as Old English. F
3. Spanish, French and Italian all belong to the Italic. T
4. Danish, Icelandic, Dutch and Norwegian are generally known as Scandinavian languages. F
5. The Germanic tribes were considered to be the first peoples known to inhabit the British Isles. F
6. In the 6th century many Scandinavian words came into the English language. F（Latin)
7. Old English refers to the language used between 450 and 1150. T
8. Middle English lasted for more than three hundred years. T
9. During the Middle English period, about 2,500 words of Dutch origin found their way into English. T
10. French, Celtic and English existed simultaneously for over a century. F
11. Social and economic terms make up more new words than science and technology terms. F 12. In modern times, borrowing is still the most important way of vocabulary expansion. F13. Middle English retained much fewer inflections than Old English. T
14. English, German, Irish and Flemish all belong to the Germanic. F
15. Modern English is a synthetic language. F
1. What does the Germanic family consist of?
The Germanic family consists of the four Northern European Languages: Norwegian, Icelandic, Danish and Swedish, which are known as Scandinavian languages. Then there is German, Dutch, Flemish and English.
2. What major families can be found in the Indo-European language family?
In the Indo-European language family, we can find eight main groups, which can be grouped into an Eastern set: Balto-Slavic, Indo-Iranian, Armanian and Albanian; a Western set: Celtic, Italic, Hellenic and Germanic.
3. What are the characteristics of Old English?
Old English was mainly Anglo-Saxon spoken by the Germanic tribes called Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. It had a vocabulary of about 50,000 to 60,000 words. It was a highly inflected language just like modern German. It was a synthetic language.
4. What are the characteristics of Middle English?
Middle English (1150-1500) borrowed a large number of words mainly from French. It had a much larger vocabulary. It retained much fewer inflections. It was a language of leveled endings.
5. What are the characteristics of Modern English?
Modern English (1500-up to now) has a huge vocabulary of different elements. Word endings were mostly lost with just a few exceptions. English has evolved from a synthetic language to the present analytic language.
1. The minimal meaningful units are known as __C___.
A.morphs
B. stems
C. morphemes
D. roots
2. The word …shortenings? contains __B___ morphemes.
A. three
B. four
C. five
D. six
3. Morphemes are abstract units, which are realized in speech by discrete units known as __A___. A. morphs
B. phonemes
C. lexemes
D. allomorphs
4. Words like cat, dog, tree and so on are called __D____ words.
A. stem
B. polysemous
C. polymorphism
D. monomorphemic
5. Free morphemes are the same as __D___ words.
A. clipped
B. stem
C. native
D. root
6. In the word “contradiction”, the morpheme “-dict-“ is __B___.
A. a free root
B. a bound root
C. an affix
D. an allomorph
7. In the word “international”, “nation” is not a __C___.
A. free morpheme
B. stem
C. bound morpheme
D. free root
8. A bound morpheme has to combine with other __A___ to make words.
A. morphemes
B. allomorphs
C. phonemes
D. Lexemes
9. Bound morphemes are chiefly found in ___A__ words.
A.derived
B. converted
C. inflectional
D. compound
10. __C___ affixes can be further divided into prefixes and suffixes.
A. Inflectional
B. Bound
C. Derivational
D. Converted
11. A __D___ is a form to which affixes of any kind can be added.
A. root
B. morph
C. morpheme
D. Stem
12. The word __B___ contain an inflectional affix.
A. worker
B. happier
C. formal
D. enrich
1. A _ is not the smallest unit because many words can be separated into even smaller meaningful units. word
2. A __ is considered to be the smallest functioning unit in the composition of words. Morpheme
3. The plural morpheme has a number of __in different sound context.
Allomorphs 4. There is no __morpheme in the word “dictation”.free/inflectional
5. Free morphemes and free ________are identical. roots
6. Affixes added to other morphemes to create new words are called _________ affixes. Derivational
7. The word “internationalists” has _________ morphemes. five
8. According to the ___________ of affixes, we can put them into two groups: inflectional and derivational affixes. functions
9. The regular plural suffix –s/-es is an ___affix. inflectional
10. Bound morphemes include two types: bound root and _____. affix
11. Almost all affixes are _____ morphemes. bound
12. Most morphemes are realized by single _____. morphs
1. Morphemes which cannot occur as separate words are bound. T
2. Inflectional morphemes indicate grammatical relationships.T
3. A stem is the basic form of a word which cannot be further analyzed. F
4. The morphemes which are realized by only one morph are called allomorphs. F
5. Free morphemes can be used as words alone. T
6. What remains of a word after the removal of all affixes is a stem. F
7. A word is the minimal meaningful unit of a language. F
8. The word “prisoners” has two morphemes. F
9. There is an inflectional morpheme in the word “easier”. T
10. Free morphemes are also known as free roots. T
1. What are the differences between a bound morpheme and a bound root?
Bound morphemes which cannot occur as separate words include two types: bound root and affix. A bound morpheme may be either a bound root or an affix. Bound roots, only one type of bound morphemes, are included in bound morphemes.
2. What are the differences between a root and a stem?
A root and a stem are not the same. A root is the basic form of a word which cannot be further analysed. A stem may consist of a single root or two roots or a root plus one or more affixes. Therefore a stem can be a root or a form bigger than a root.
V. Analyze and comment on the following.
1. Analyze the morphological structures of the following words.
2. Point out the types of morphemes.
prediction, strawberries, encouragement
答:(1) Each of the three words consists of three morphemes: prediction ( pre + dict + ion ), strawberries ( straw + berry + es ), encouragement ( en + courage + ment ).
(2) “Straw”, “berry” and “courage” are all free morphemes as they can stand alone as words.
(3) Of the nine morphemes, all the rest pre-, -dict-, -ion, -es, en- and –ment are bound morphemes as they cannot stand alone as words. Of the six bound morphemes, pre-, -ion, en- and –ment are derivational morphemes and –es is an inflectional morpheme, while –dict- is a bound root.
2. Analyze the morphological structures of the following words in terms of free morphemes and bound morphemes, then explain the differences between the two kinds of morphemes.
luckily, reminded, teachers
答: (1) Each of the three words consists of three morphemes: luckily ( luck + y + ly), reminded ( re + mind + ed), teachers ( teach + er + s)
(2) “Luck”, “mind” and “teach” are free morphemes; re-, -ed, -y, -ly, -er and –s are bound morphemes. And of the six bound morphemes, -ed and –s are inflectional morphemes and the other four are derivational morphemes.
(3) Free morphemes have complete meanings in themselves and can stand alone as words. Bound morphemes cannot occur as separate words. They must be bound to other morphemes to form words.
1. The expansion of vocabulary in modern English depends chiefly on _a____.
A.word-formation
B. compounding
C.prefixation
D. suffixation
2. Words created by adding word-forming or derivational affixes to stems are called __a___.
A. derivatives
B. compounds
C. acronyms
D. blends
3. The chief function of suffixation is to change __d___.
A. the meaning of the stem
B. the meaning of the root
C. the lexical meaning
D. the word-class of the stem
4. The overwhelming majority of blends are __b___.
A. adjectives
B. nouns
C. adverbs
D. verbs
5. The chief function of prefixation is to change __c___.
A. the grammatical function
B. the word-class of the stem
C. the meaning of the stem
D. the part of speech
6. The “mis-” in “mistrust” is _D____.
A. a negative prefix
B. a locative prefix
C. a reversative prefix
D. a pejorative prefix
7. The meanings of “economic” and “economical” are _B____.
A. identical
B. different
C. nearly identical
D. similar
8. Compounds differ from free phrases in __D___.
A. phonetic features
B. semantic features
C. grammatical features
D. all the above
9. The word “survival” is created by adding _A____ to the stem.
A. a noun suffix
B. an adjective suffix
C. a verb suffix
D. an adverb suffix
10. Most compounds consist of only ___A_____ stems.
A. Two
B. three
C. four
D. five
11. The word _______C____ is a verb compound.
A. Crybaby
B. deaf-mute
C. lip-read
D. hard-won
12. In ___C__ compounds, the adjective element cannot take inflectional suffixes.
A. adjective-verb
B. verb-adjective
C. adjective-noun
D. noun-adjective
13. The conversion of two syllable nouns into verbs involves a change of __B___.
A. spelling
B. stress
C. function
D. pronunciation
14. The most productive conversion is the conversion that takes place between _D____.
A. verbs and adjectives
B. adjectives and verbs
C. nouns and adjectives
D. nouns and verbs
15. The word __B___ is a front clipping.
A. Memo
B. scope
C. fan
D. pop
16. The word “zoo” is a __A___ clipping.
A. phrase
B. front
C. back
D. front and back
17. Back-formation is considered to be the opposite process of __C___.
A.conversion
B. compounding
C. suffixation
D. prefixation
18. ___A__ are words pronounced letter by letter, and _____ are words pronounced as a normal word.
A. Initialisms, acronyms
B.Acronyms, initialisms
C. Acronyms, blends
D. Blends, initialisms
19. Compounds can be written __D___.
A.open
B. hyphenated
C. solid
D. all the above
20. Words formed by acronymy can be divided into initialisms and acronyms depending on the __B___ of the word.
A.spelling
B. pronunciation
C. function
D. meaning
1. We can classify prefixes on a __________ basis into nine groups. semantic
2. Affixation, also known as __________, is one of the most productive means of word-formation. derivation
3. According to the positions which _____ occupy in words, affixation falls into two subclasses: prefixation and suffixation. affixes
4. The primary function of _________ is to change the grammatical function of stems. Suffixes
5. Prefixes mainly change the ____________ of stems. meanings
6. The prefix “fore-” in “forehead” is known as a __________ prefix. locative
7. We can group suffixes on a ___________ basis into noun suffixes, verb suffixes, adjective suffixes, etc. grammatical
8. In compounds the word stress usually occurs on the __________ element. first
9. Compounding is the formation of new words by joining two or more _________. stems
10. Conversion is also known as _____ shift. functional
11. The words created by conversion are new only in a ___________ sense. grammatical
12. Blending is the formation of a new word by combining _________ of two words or a word plus a part of another word. parts
13. Blends are still considered by serious-minded people to be slang and ______. informal
14. Back-formation is the method of creating words by removing the _suffixes. supposed
15. _________ is the process of forming new words by joining the initial letters of names of social and political organizations or special noun phrases and technical terms. Acronymy
1. Most of the prefixes change the word classes of stems.
2. The prefix “dis-” in “disloyal” is a reversative prefix.
3. The word “booklet” is a denominal noun. T
4. The suffix “-wise” in “clockwise” is a noun suffix.
5. A compound tends to play a single grammatical role in a sentence. T
6. The conversion between nouns and verbs may involve a change of stress. T
7. Compounding is one of the most productive ways of word-formation. T
8. The word “blueprint” is a verb compound.
9. A noun fully converted from an adjective has all the characteristics of nouns. T
10. The word “workfare” is formed by compounding.
11. “CEO” is regarded as an acronym.
12. Back-formation is considered to be the opposite process of prefixation.
13. Words created through back-formation are mostly verbs. T
14. Back-formed words are largely formal in style.
15. The word “sandwich” comes from the name of a place.
1. What is the main difference between prefixes and suffixes?
Prefixes do not generally change the word classes of stems. In other words, most of the prefixes are characterized by their non-class-change nature. Their chief function is to change the meanings of stems. Unlike prefixes, suffixes have only a small semantic role, their primary function being to change the grammatical function of stems.
2. What are the three main features of compounds?
Compounds have the following three main features: phonetic features, semantic features and grammatical features. The word stress of a compound usually occurs on the first element if there is only one stress. In cases of two stresses, the compound has the primary stress on the first element and the secondary stress, if any, on the second.
Semantically, every compound should express a single idea just as one word. Grammatically, a compound tends to play a single grammatical role in a sentence.
3. What is conversion? What are its characteristics?
A. Conversion is the formation of new words by converting words of one class to another class.
B.These words are new only in a grammatical sense. Since the words do not change in morphological structure but in function, this process is also known as functional shift. Words produced by conversion are primarily nouns, adjectives, and verbs.
4. What is blending? What are the four major groups of blends?
? Blending is the formation of new words by combining parts of two words or a word plus a part of another word.
?As far as the structure is concerned, blends fall into four major groups: head + tail, head + head, head + word and word + tail.
5. What is back-formation? What are the characteristics of back-formation?
? Back-formation, the opposite process of suffixation, is the method of creating words by removing the supposed suffixes.
?Words created through back-formation are mostly verbs.
?There are only a few that can be used as nouns or as both nouns and verbs.
?Back-formed words are largely informal in style and some of them have not gained public acceptance.
6. What is the difference between partial conversion and full conversion?
?If the nouns converted from adjectives do not possess all the qualities a noun does and they must be used together with definite articles, the conversion is partial conversion.
?If the nouns converted from adjectives have all the characteristics of nouns, the conversion is full conversion.
7. What is acronymy? What is the difference between initialisms and acronyms?
? Acronymy is the process of forming new words by joining the initial letters of names of social and political organizations or special noun phrases and technical terms. Words formed in this way are called initialisms or acronyms, depending on the pronunciation of the words.
?Initialisms are words pronounced letter by letter, but acronyms formed from initial letters are pronounced as normal words.
8. What is clipping? What are the four common types of clipping?
? Clipping is the formation of new words by cutting a part off the original.
?There are four common types of clipping: front clipping, back clipping, front and back clipping, and phrase clipping.
V. Analyze and comment on the following
1.Point out the formation of the following words:
Sitcom workfare copter dorm
VOA TV NATO G-man
1) Sitcom and workfare are blends. Sitcom is formed by combining the head of situation and that of comedy, and workfare is formed by combining the word “work” and the tail of welfare.
2) Copter and dorm are clipped words. Copter is formed by clipping the front of the word “helicopter”, and dorm is formed by clipping the back of the word “dormitory”.
3) VOA, TV, NATO and G-man are new words created through acronymy. VOA from “Voice of America” and TV from “television” are initialisms, and NATO from “the North Atlantic Treaty Organization” and G-man from “Government man” are acronyms.
2. She decided to winter in Australia.
In the above sentence, which word is a converted one? Explain the type of conversion and its effect.
1) In the above sentence, “winter” is a converted word.
2) The verb “winter” is converted from a noun.
3) The conversion is economical and vivid.
3. Find the blends in the following sentence and explain which types they belong to.
The lunarnaut stayed in that motel for two days.
1)In the above sentence, lunarnaut and motel are blends.
2)The word “lunarnaut” from (lunar + astronaut) is a word + tail blend, and the word “motel” from (motor +
hotel) is a head + tail blend.
4. Explain the types of the following two converted nouns. If you find anything wrong, please explain the reasons and correct the mistake.
the necessary a wounded
1) There are two kinds of conversion from adjectives to nouns: full conversion and partial conversion.
2) The word “necessary”, when converted from an adjective to a noun, has all the characteristics of noun, so the conversion is full. Its plural form is necessaries.
3) The word “wounded”, when converted from an adjective to a noun, does not possess all the qualities a noun does and it must be used together with a definite article, so the conversion is partial. The expression “a wounded” should be corrected as “the wounded”.
1. Words are but symbols, many of which have meaning only when they have acquired __B___.
A. associations
B. reference
C. concepts
D. motivation
2. Reference is the relationship between language and __A___.
A. the world
B. the context
C. the sense
D. the concept
3. A concept is universal to all men alike regardless of __D______.
A. culture
B. race
C. language
D. all the above
4. Meaning and concept are ____C______.
A. unrelated
B. identical
C. connected
D. same
5. Unlike reference, “sense” denotes the relationships _A____.
A. inside the language
B. outside the language
C. between the language
D. between symbols and things
6. Every word that has meaning has sense, but not every word has __D___.
A.Meaning
B. sense
C. concept
D. reference
7. The relationship between the word-form and meaning is __C___.
A.logical
B. connected
C. arbitrary
D. consistent
8. ___B____ accounts for the connection between the linguistic symbol and its meaning.
A. Concept
B. Motivation
C. Reference
D. Sense
9. Most words can be said to be ____A_____.
A.non-motivated
B. related
C. Motivated
D. logical
10.Echoic words such as bleat, croak, neigh, hiss and the like are largely __A_____.
A. motivated
B. arbitrary
C. logical
D. connected
11.The word “hopeless” with the meaning of “without hope” is a ____ B_____ motivated word.
A. semantically
B. morphologically
C. phonetically
D. historically
12.Lexical meaning and __A___ meaning make up the word-meaning.
A. Grammatical
B. conceptual
C. semantic
D. associative
13. Conceptual meaning is also known as __D___ meaning.
A. connotative
B. collocative
C. affective
D. denotative
14. Associative meaning comprises several types except __C___.
A. stylistic meaning
B. affective meaning
C. conceptual meaning
D. collocative meaning
15. The word “tiny” is _____D______.
A. poetic
B. formal
C. dialectal
D. colloquial
1. Although reference is a kind of abstraction, yet with the help of ________, it can refer to something specific. context
2. By means of ________, a speaker indicates which things in the world are being talked about. reference
3. Concept, which is beyond __________, is the result of human cognition, reflecting the objective world in the human mind. language
4. The sense of an expression is its place in a system of ________ relationships with other expressions in the language. semantic
5. Semantic motivation explains the connection between the _____ sense and figurative sense of the word. literal
6. Lexical meaning itself has two components: conceptual meaning and _________ meaning. associative
7. The same word may have different ________ meanings as shown in “do, does, did, done, doing”. grammatical
8. __B___ accounts for the connection between the linguistic symbol and its meaning.
A. Concept
B. Motivation
C. Reference
D. Sense
9. Most words can be said to be __A___.
A. non-motivated
B. related
C. motivated
D. logical
10.Echoic words such as bleat, croak, neigh, hiss and the like are largely __B___.
A. Motivated
B. arbitrary
C. logical
D. connected
11.The word “hopeless” with the meaning of “without hope” is a __B___ motivated word.
A. semantically
B. morphologically
C. phonetically
D. historically
12.Lexical meaning and ___A__ meaning make up the word-meaning.
A. Grammatical
B. conceptual
C. semantic
D. associative
13.Conceptual meaning is also known as _D____ meaning.
A. connotative
B. collocative
C. affective
D. denotative
14.Associative meaning comprises several types except _C____.
A. stylistic meaning
B. affective meaning
C. conceptual meaning
D. collocative meaning
8. _________ meaning is unstable, varying considerably according to culture, historical period and so on. Connotative
9. The word “famous” is appreciative, but the word “notorious” is ____. pejorative
10. The words “swimming-pool” and “airmail” are ___ motivated words. morphologically
1. Grammatical meaning of a word becomes important only when it is used in actual context. T
2. Functional words have little lexical meaning than content words. T
3. The same word has the same associative meaning to all the speakers of the same language
4. The word “horse” is neutral, but the word “nag” is formal.
5. Affective meaning indicates the speaker?s attitude toward the person or thing in question. T
6. In many cases, the appreciative or pejorative meanings of the words are brought out in context. T
7. There are few words which have both the same conceptual meaning and the stylistic meaning. T
8. Associative meaning, which is fixed, differs from the conceptual meaning.
9. The word “mouth” in “the mouth of a river” is an etymologically motivated word.
10. Compounds and derived words are multi-morphemic words and their meanings are the sum total of the morphemes combined.
11. Meaning and concept are related indirectly to referents.
12. When a connection has been established between the linguistic sign and a referent, the sign becomes meaningful. T
1. What is reference? What are the characteristics of reference?
Reference refers to the relationship between language and the world. By means of reference, a speaker indicates which things in the world (including persons) are being talked about. The reference of a word to a thing outside the language is arbitrary and conventional. Reference is a kind of abstraction, but with the help of context, it can refer to something specific.
2. What is motivation? How is it classified?
1) Motivation accounts for the connection between the linguistic symbol and its meaning.
2) Motivation is classified into onomatopoeic motivation, morphological motivation, semantic motivation and etymological motivation.
3. What is grammatical meaning?
Grammatical meaning refers to that part of the meaning of the word which indicates grammatical concept or relationships such as part of speech of words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs), singular and plural meaning of nouns, tense meaning of verbs and their reflectional forms. Grammatical meaning of a word becomes important only when it is used in actual context. Different lexical items may have the same grammatical meaning. On the other hand, the same word may have different grammatical meanings.
4. What is the difference between conceptual meaning and associative meaning?
Conceptual meaning is the meaning given in the dictionary and forms the core of word-meaning. Being constant and relatively stable, conceptual meaning forms the basis for communication as the same word has the same conceptual meaning to all the speakers of the same language. Associative meaning is the secondary meaning supplemented to the conceptual meaning. It differs from the conceptual meaning in that it is open-ended and indeterminate.
5. What is collocative meaning?
Collocative meaning consists of the associations a word acquires in its collocation. In other words, it is that part of the word-meaning suggested by the words before or after the word in discussion. Collocative meaning overlaps with stylistic and affective meanings because in a sense both stylistic and affective meanings are revealed by means of collocation.
V. Analyze and comment on the following.
1. The pen is mightier than the sword.
What kind of motivation is used in the above sentence? What is the definition of that motivation? What do “pen” and “sword” mean?
1) Semantic motivation is used in the sentence.
2) Semantic motivation refers to the mental associations suggested by the conceptual meaning of a word. It explains
the connection between the literal sense and figurative sense of the word.
3) “Pen”and “sword”are two semantically motivated words. Their literal meanings are “a tool for writing or drawing with ink” and “a weapon with a handle and a long metal blade” respectively, but their figurative meanings are “writing” and “war” respectively.
2. After casting a stone at the cops, they absconded with the loot.
Are all the words used in the above sentence appropriate? If not, explain the reasons and improve the sentence.
1) Structurally, the sentence with a gerund structure is very formal, but the words “cops” and “loot” used in the sentence are all slang/slangy words, and they are not consistent with the gerund structure.
2) The slang/slangy words “cops” and “loot” should be replaced by “police” and “money” respectively. The revised sentence “After casing a stone at the police, they absconded with the money” is appropriate in style.
3. Women are flowers; women are tigers.
Explain the grammatical, conceptual and connotative meaning of the word “women”which appears twice in the above sentence.
1) The word “women” in the first part of the sentence and the one in the second have the same grammatical and conceptual meanings. Their grammatical meanings are: plural nouns and subjects; their conceptual meaning is: female adult.
2) The connotative meaning of the word “women” in the first part is “beautiful”, or “lovely”, and that of the word “women” in the second part is “fierce” or “malicious”.
1. The first meaning of a word is called the __C___ meaning.
A. stylistic
B. affective
C. primary
D. associative
2. __B___ is a common feature peculiar to all natural languages because many words have more than one meaning.
A. Hyponymy
B. Polysemy
C. Homonymy
D. Synonymy
3. The problem of interrelation of the various meanings of the same word is usually dealt with from _A____ different angles.
A. two
B. three
C. four
D. five
4. The basic meaning of a word is the core of word-meaning called the _D____ meaning.
A. first
B. primary
C. derived
D. central
5. Of the three types of homonyms, __A___ constitute the largest number and are most common.
A. homophones
B. perfect homonyms
C. homographs
D. homophones and homographs
6. Homographs are words identical only in __B___ but different in two other aspects.
A. sound
B. spelling
C. meaning
D. sense
7. Perfect homonyms and polysemants are __C___ with regard to spelling and pronunciation.
A. fully different
B. slightly different
C. fully identical
D. slightly identical
8. Relative synonyms are similar or nearly the same in __D___.
A. connotative meaning
B. stylistic meaning
C. affective meaning
D. conceptual meaning
9. The most important source of synonyms is perhaps ___D_____.
A. coincidence with idiomatic expressions
B. figurative and euphemistic use of words
C. dialects and regional English
D. borrowing
10. The differences between synonyms boil down to three areas except ___A______.
A. word-class
B. connotation
C. application
D. denotation
11. Antonyms can be defined as words which are ____C_____ in meaning.
A. different
B. identical
C. opposite
D. similar
12. Antonyms can be classified into the following types except __B______.
A. relative terms
B. absolute terms
C. contradictory terms
D. contrary terms
13.___C__ deals with the relationship of semantic inclusion.
A. Homonymy
B. Synonymy
C. Hyponymy
D. Polysemy
14. The status of words either as superordinate or subordinate is __B___ to other terms.
A. stable
B. relative
C. absolute
D. fixed
15. All of the following are the sources of homonyms except __D___.
A.change in sound
B. shortening
C. borrowing
D. extension
1. Synonyms share a likeness in __________ as well as in part of speech. denotation
2. Synonyms can be classified into two major groups: absolute synonyms and ____________ synonyms. relative
3. Based on the degree of ____________, homonyms fall into three classes: perfect homonyms, homographs and homophones. similarity
4. Radiation is a semantic process in which each of the derived meanings is directly connected to the _________ meaning. primary
5. Synchronically, polysemy is viewed as the coexistence of various meanings of the same word in a certain ____________ period of time. historical
6. Absolute synonyms also known as complete synonyms are words which are _________ in meaning in all its aspects. identical
7. Synonyms may differ in the range and __________ of meaning. intensity
8. Antonymy is concerned with ________ opposition. semantic
9. Antonyms have various practical uses and have long proved helpful and valuable in defining the ________ of words. meanings
10. The meaning of a more ___word is included in that of another more general word. Specific
1. The words “tulip” and “rose” are hyponyms of “flower”. T
2. A word which has more than one meaning can have one antonym.
3. One of the features of the contradictory terms is that such antonyms are gradable.
4. Synonyms form different collocations and fit into different sentence patterns. T
5. By connotation we mean the stylistic and conceptual meaning of words.
6. The words “small” and “tiny” are absolute synonyms.
7. Homonyms are words identical only in sound but different in spelling and meaning.
8. One of the sources of homonyms is extension.
9. Concatenation describes a process where each of the later meanings is related only to the preceding one like chains. T
10. Diachronically, polysemy is assumed to be the result of growth and development of the semantic structure of one
and same word. T
IV. Answer the following questions.
1. What is the difference between radiation and concatenation?
Unlike radiation where each of the derived meanings is directly connected to the primary meaning, concatenation describes a process where each of the later meanings is related only to the preceding one like chains.
2. What is the main difference between homonyms and polysemants?
The fundamental difference between homonyms and polysemants lies in the fact that the former refers to different words which happen to share the same form and the latter is the one and same word which has several distinguishable meanings.
V. Analyze and comment on the following.
1. Comment on the following two sentences in terms of superordinates and subordinates.
a. The man said he would come to our school next week.
b. The visiting scholar said he would come to our university next Monday.
1)In the first sentence, “man”, “school”, and “week” are all superordinates while “visiting scholar”,
“university”, and “Monday” in the second sentence are all subordinates compared with the corresponding expressions in the previous sentence.
2)The second sentence is clearer because subordinates are vivid, precise and concrete.
3)The relationship between some words used in the above two sentences is hyponymy.
2. Male/female
Explain what kind of antonymy they belong to and the characteristics of this kind of antonymy.
1)They are contradictory antonyms.
2)Contradictory antonyms truly represent oppositeness of meaning. They are so opposed to each other that
they are mutually exclusive and admit no possibility between them. The assertion of one is the denial of the other. In other words, if one of the pair is true, then the other cannot be.
1. Word-meaning changes by modes of __D__.
A.degradation and elevation B, extension and narrowin C. transfer
D. all the above
2. Extension of meaning is also known as __B___.
A. Transfer
B. generalization
C. degradation
D. elevation
3. The associated transfer of meaning and euphemistic use of words, etc. are often due to __A___ factors.
A. psychological
B. historical
C. scientific
D. internal
4. The linguistic factors of the change of meaning include the following types except _A____.
A. Blending
B. shortening
C. analogy
D. borrowing
5. The meaning of “lip” in “the lip of a wound” has experienced __C___.
A. degradation
B. extension
C. associated transfer
D. elevation
6. The original meaning of “silly” is “happy”, but now it means “foolish”. This is __C___ of word-meaning.
A. semantic transfer
B. elevation
C. degradation
D. extension
7. Pejoration of meaning is the opposite of semantic __B___.
A. narrowing
B. elevation
C. extension
D. transfer
8. __D___is the most unstable element of a language.
A. Grammar
B. Meaning
C. Pronunciation
D. Vocabulary
9. Of all the modes of word-meaning changes, ____D____ are the most common.
A.extension and degradation
B.elevation and narrowing
C.transfer and elevation D,extension and narrowing
10. The so-called “King?s English” serves as a __A_______ reason in word-meaning changes.
A. class
B. historical
C. cultural
D. psychological
1. Extension is a process by which a word that originally had a ___________ meaning has now become generalized. specialized
2. Extension and __________ are thought to be the most common of the modes of word-meaning changes. narrowing
3. Narrowing of meaning is also called _________________. specialization
4. There are generally ________ major factors that cause changes in word-meaning. two
5. The _________ transfer of meaning and euphemistic use of words, etc. are often due to psychological factors. associated
6. Transfer may also occur between abstract and __________ meanings. concrete
7. The word “clear-sounding” is a good example of transfer of __________. sensations
8. __________ refers to the process by which words rise from humble beginnings to positions of importance. Elevation
9. Changes of word-meaning are due to linguistic factors and ___________________ factors.
extra-linguistic
10. It is much more common for word meanings to change in denotation from _______________ to pejorative than it is for them to go the other way. neutral
III. Decide whether the following statements are true or false.
1. Comparatively, the form is even more unstable than the content.
2. Extension and elevation are the most common types of word-meaning changes.
3. Altogether there are four types of changes in word-meaning.
4. Vocabulary is the most unstable element of a language, for it is undergoing constant changes both in form and content. T
5. The word “barn” originally meant “a place for storing only barley”, but now it means “a storeroom”, so we can say that it has undergone extension of meaning. T
6. The word “fond” formerly meant “foolish”, but now it means “affectionate”, so its meaning has been narrowed.
7. The word “copperhead”used to refer to those northern informers is a good example of the historical reason accounting for the change of word-meaning.
8. Different social varieties of language have come into being as language records the speech and attitude of different social classes. T
9. Analogy is thought to be one of the linguistic factors. T
10. So far as the change of word-meaning is concerned, increased scientific knowledge and discovery are unimportant factors
1. What is transfer? What are the main types of transfer?
Transfer or semantic transfer refers to a process of the change of word-meaning whereby a word used to designate one thing has been changed to mean something else. The four main types of semantic transfer are: associated transfer, transfer between abstract and concrete meanings, transfer between subjective and objective meanings, and transfer of sensations.
2. What are the two major factors that cause changes in meaning? How are they classified?
The two major factors that cause changes in meaning are: linguistic factors and extra-linguistic factors. Linguistic factors include shortening, the influx of borrowings and analogy. Extra-linguistic factors include the historical reason, the class reason and the psychological reason.
3. What is the difference between elevation and degradation?
Elevation refers to the process by which words rise from humble beginnings to positions of importance, but degradation of meaning is the opposite of semantic elevation. Degradation is a process whereby words of good origin fall into ill reputation or non-affective words come to be used in derogatory sense.
V. Analyze and comment on the following.
1. The word “deer” originally meant “animal”, but now it refers to a specific animal. What kind of word-meaning change has the word experienced? What accounts for the change of word-meaning?
1)The word “deer” has experienced narrowing or specialization of meaning.
2)The narrowing of word-meaning is caused by the influx of borrowings, one of the major linguistic factors
leading to the change of word-meaning. The word “deer”originally meant “animal”, and later the word “animal” from Latin and the word “beast” from French found their way into English. As the three terms were synonymous, “animal”retained the original meaning, the meaning of “deer”was narrowed and “beast” changed in colour.
2. The word “nice” formerly meant “ignorant” and “foolish”, but its modern meanings are “delightful” or “pleasant”. What kind of change in meaning has the word undergone? Explain the reasons and then list all the types of word-meaning changes.
1) The word “nice” has undergone elevation or amelioration.
2) The meaning of the word “nice” has been elevated because the word has risen from a humble beginning to the present position of importance.
3) The main types of word-meaning changes are: extension, narrowing, degradation, elevation, and transfer.
1. It is often impossible to tell the meaning of a word before it is used in _D________.
A. a speech
B. a lecture
C. situation
D. context
2. In a narrow sense, context refers to _B____ context.
A. non-linguistic
B. linguistic
C. grammatical
D. syntactic
3. Linguistic context may cover the following except __A______.
A. the physical situation
B. the entire book
C. a whole chapter
D. a paragraph
4. Lexical context refers to the __C___ affecting and defining the meaning of the word in question.
A. structure
B. grammar
C. neighbouring words
D. syntax
5. Extra-linguistic context excludes __A____.
A. clauses
B. people
C. time
D. place
6. The meaning of a word may be influenced by the structure in which it occurs. This is known as _C____ context.
A. non-linguistic
B. lexical
C. grammatical
D. situational
7. When a word with __B_____ meanings is used in inadequate context, it creates ambiguity.
A. single
B. multiple
C. plural
D. complicated
8. Ambiguity arises due to the following except _D____.
A. polysemy
B. grammatical structure
C. homonymy
D. synonymy
9. The ambiguity of the sentence, “He is a hard businessman,” is caused by __D___.
A.hyponymy
B. synonymy
C. homonymy
D. polysemy
10. In a broad sense, context includes the physical situation, which is called _A____ context.
A.extra-linguistic
B. situational
C. structural
D. grammatical
1. Linguistic context can be subdivided into lexical context and ________________ context.
grammatical
2. The extra-linguistic context may extend to embrace the entire ________ background. cultural
3. When we talk about context, we usually think of _____ context. linguistic
4. It is often impossible to tell the meaning of a word before it is used in ___ , context
5. When a word with _________ meanings is used in inadequate context, it creates ambiguity. multiple
6. Grammatical __________ can also lead to ambiguity. structure
7. Homonymy is another cause of ___ as two separate words share the same form. ambiguity
8. Context may prove extremely valuable in guessing the __ of new words. meanings
9. The morphemic structure of words, especially compounds and ____words, offers clues for inferring the meanings of unknown words. derived
10. Superordinates and __________ often define and explain each other, thus forming an important context clue. subordinates
1. Synonyms or synonymous expressions are seldom employed by authors to explain new words
2. Antonyms are not used by authors to explain unknown words.
3. Hyponymy is thought to be an important context clue. T
4. Without clear context, the reference can be very confusing. T
5. The meaning of the sentence, “The fish is ready to eat.”, is not cl ear because of polysemy.
6. Grammatical structure is the most important cause leading to ambiguity.
7. Clauses are the most important linguistic context
8. Participants are not regarded as linguistic context. T
9. A speaker can be thought to be non-linguistic context. T
10. Extra-linguistic context can often exercise greater influence on the meanings of words than we realize. T
1. How is context classified?
Context is used in different senses. In a narrow sense, it refers to the words, clauses, sentences in which a word appears. This is known as linguistic context which may cover a paragraph, a whole chapter and even the whole book. In a broad sense, it includes the physical situation as well. This is called extra-linguistic context, which embraces the people, time, place, and even the whole cultural background.
2. What are the main types of linguistic context?
Linguistic context can be subdivided into lexical context and grammatical context. Lexical context refers to the words that occur together with the word in question. This meaning of the word is often affected and defined by the neighbouring words. Grammatical context refers to the structure in which a word occurs. The meanings of a word may be influenced by the structure. Though less common, it is by no means rare
3. What are the causes of ambiguity?
Ambiguity often arises due to the following three main causes: polysemy, homonymy and grammatical structure. When a word with multiple meanings is used in inadequate context, it creates ambiguity. Homonymy is another cause of ambiguity as two separate words share the same form. Grammatical structure can also lead to ambiguity. V. Analize and comment on the following.
1. Peter and Betty are married.
Study the above sentence. If you find anything inappropriate, explain the reasons and then improve the sentence.
1) The sentence is ambiguous, which is caused by grammatical structure.
2) The sentence can be understood as “Both Peter and Betty are married,” or “Betty is married to Peter.”
3) The sentence can be improved as: “Both Peter and Betty are married,” or “Betty is married to Peter.”
2. She is a hard student.
Study the above sentence. If you find anything inadequate, explain the reasons and then improve the sentence.
1) The sentence is ambiguous, which is caused by polysemy.
2) The word “hard” in this sentence can be understood as “hardworking” or “difficult”. The context fails to narrow down the meaning so that it is difficult for the reader to decide what exactly the speaker means. But there would be no misunderstanding if the original sentence is extended as “She is a hard student and she is often praised by her teachers,” or “She is a hard student to deal with.”
3. The ball was attractive.
Study the above sentence. If you find anything improper, please explain the reasons and then improve the sentence.
1) The sentence is ambiguous, which is caused by homonymy.
2) The word “ball” in the sentence may mean “a round object to play in a game” or “a dancing party”.
3) The ambiguity can be eliminated by altering the context a little as “The ball was attractive with nice music and a lot of people,” or “The ball was attractive with the bright colours.”
IV. Answer the following questions.
1. What are the characteristics of idioms?
English idioms have two major characteristics: semantic unity and structural stability. Semantically, each idiom is a semantic unity although it consists of more than one word. Though the various words forming the idiom have their respective literal meanings, in the idiom they have lost their individual identity. Quite often an idiom functions as one word. Structurally, each idiom is usually fixed and does not allow changes in most cases.
2. What is the difference between metonymy and synecdoche in English idioms?
Both metonymy and synecdoche involve substitution of names, yet they differ from each other. Metonymy, a kind of figures of speech used in English idioms, is a case of using the name of one thing for that of another closely associated with it, but synecdoche is a case of substituting part for the whole or vice versa
3. What are the rhetorical features of idioms?
The rhetorical features of idioms include phonetic manipulation, lexical manipulation and figures of speech. Phonetic manipulation includes alliteration and rhyme.
Lexical manipulation includes reiteration, repetition and juxtaposition.
Figures of speech include simile, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, personification and euphemism.
V. Analyze and comment on the following.
1. He is as strong as a horse.
Pick out the idiom in the above sentence, and then point out its structure, grammatical function and figure of speech.
1)The idiom is “as strong as a horse”.
2) Its structure is: as + adj. + as + n.
3) Its grammatical function is that it is an idiom adjectival in nature and it functions as the predicative in the sentence.
4) It is a simile.
2. She has been looking for the lost key here and there for two days.
Pick out the idiom in the above sentence, and then point out its structure, grammatical function and rhetorical feature
1) The idiom is “here and there”.
2) Its structure is “adv. + and + adv.”.
3) Its grammatical function is that it is an idiom adverbial in nature and it functions as adverbial.
4) Its rhetorical feature is juxtaposition
IV. Answer the following questions.
1. What is a dictionary? What is the relationship between a dictionary and lexicology?
A dictionary is a book which presents in alphabetic order the words of English, with information as to their spelling, pronunciation, meaning, usage, rules of grammar, and in some, their etymology. It is closely related to lexicology, which deals with the same problems: the form, meaning, usage and origins of vocabulary units.
2. What are specialized dictionaries? What are their characteristics?
?Specialized dictionaries concentrate on a particular area of language or knowledge, treating such diverse topics as etymology, synonyms, idioms, pronunciation, usage in language, and computer, engineering, literature and a variety of other subjects.
?These dictionaries may not be very large in size, yet each contains much more detailed information on the subject than you can find in a general unabridged one.