Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units of a language.
Some morphemes are realized by more than one morph. Such alternative morphs of a morpheme are called allomorphs.
Bound morphemes have to be bound with other morphemes to form words and can not be used independently as words.
Free roots are free morphemes. They are identical with root words.
A bound root, like a free root, is that part of the word that carries the fundamental meaning of a word, but unlike a free root, it is a bound form and has to be bound with other morphemes to form words.
An inflectional affix is one attached to the end of a word to convey grammatical meaning or grammatical relation, such as tense, case, number, comparative or superlative degree, etc.
A derivational affix is one that is added to the beginning or the end of a word in order to create a new word. Derivational affixes can be divided into prefixes and suffixes.
Prefixes are the morphemes that occur at the beginning of a word. They modify the meaning of a stem, but usually do not change the part of speech of the original word.
Suffixes occur at the end of stems. Though they can modify the meanings of the original words, their chief function is to change the parts of speech of words.
A root is the basic form of a word which can not be further analysed without total loss of identity. It carries the main component of the meaning of a word. It can also be defined as that part of a word which remains after all the inflectional and derivational affixes have been removed.
A stem can be defined as a any form to which an affix can be added.
Chapter 4 Word Formation II
1．Affixation
Affixation is the process of forming words by adding derivational affixes to stems. It is also called derivation. Words formed in this way are derivatives.
1) Prefixation
Prefixation is a way of forming new words by adding prefixes to stems. Usually, prefixes do not change the part of speech of a word. Their chief function is to modify its meaning, although there are exceptions. Prefixes can be divided, based on their meanings, into: negative prefixes, reversative prefixes, pejorative prefixes, prefixes of degree or size, locative prefixes, prefixes of time and order, number prefixes and miscelaneous prefixes.
2)Suffixation
Suffixation is the process of forming new words by adding suffixes to the end of stems. The chief role of a suffix is not to modify the meaning of a stem, rather to change the grammatical function of a stem, though there are a few exceptions. Suffixes can be divided into noun suffixes, adjective suffixes, adverb suffixes and verb suffixes.
2．Compounding
1) Definition
Compounding is a process of word formation by which two or more stems are put together to make one word. The word formed in this way is called a compound
2) Characteristics of compounds
(1)Phonetic feature
The word stress of a compound usually falls on the first element, while in a free phrase, the second element is usually stressed. If a compound has two stresses, it is the first element that receives the primary stress.
(2)Semantic feature
The meaning of a compound is a semantic unity, which,usually, is not the total sum of all the meanings of the constituent words in a compound.
(3) Grammatical feature
A compound usually plays a single grammatical role in a sentence.
3．Conversion
1) Definition
Conversion is the formation of new words by converting words of one part of speech to the words of another part of speech, without changes in morphological structures. Words created are new only in a grammatical sense.
2)Types of conversion
(1)Conversion to Nouns
a.verb to noun
b.adjective to noun
c. miscellaneous conversion
(2)Conversion to Verbs
a. noun to verb
b. adjective to verb
c. miscellaneous conversion
3)Semantic features of conversion
1)Verb to noun
The new words obtained through conversion are usually related to the original words in the following ways:
(1)state of mind or sensation
(2)event or activity
(3)result of the action
(4)doer of the action
(5)tool or instrument to do the action with
(6)place of the action
2)Noun to verb
(1)to put in or on N
(2)to give N or to provide with N
(3)to remove N from
(4)to do with N
(5)to be or act as n
(6)to make or change into N
(7)to send or go by N
4．Blending
1) Definition
Blending is the formation of new words by combining parts of two words or a word plus a part of another word
2)Categories of Blending
(1)the first part of the first word + the last part of the second word: botel: boat + hotel 汽艇游客旅馆
(2) the whole part of the first word + last part of the second word: lunarnaut: lunar + astronaut 登月宇航员
(3)the whole form of the second word + the first part of the first word: Eurasian: Europe + Asian 欧亚混血儿
(4)the first part of the first word + the first part of the second word: sitcom: situation + comedy 情景喜剧
5．Clipping
1) Definition
Clipping is to shorten a long word by cutting a part off the original and use what has remained as a word.
2) Types of Clipping
(1)Front clipping: "phone" from telephone
(2)Back clipping: "ad" from advertisement
(3)Front and back clipping: "flu" from influenza
(4)Phrase clipping: "pub" from public house
6．Acronymy
1) Definition
Acronymy is the process of forming new words by joining the initial letters of phrases.
2)Types of Acronymy
(1)Initialisms
Initialisms are words pronounced letter by letter: VOA from Voice of America
(2)Acronyms
Acronyms are words formed from initial letters but pronounced as a normal word.
7．Backformation
Back-formation is the opposite process of suffixation. It is the process of making a new word by dropping the supposed suffix: e.g. "burgle" from burglar.
8． New Words from Proper Names
1) Names of people
2)Names of places
3)Names of books
4)Tradenames
When proper nouns are commonized, many of them have lost their original identity;the initial letter many not be capitalized. They can be combined with other morphemes to form words of other word classes. The commonized proper nouns are rich in cultural associations. They are stylistically vivid, expressive and thought-provoking.
Chapter 5 Word Meaning
1．The meaning of "meaning"
1.1 Reference
Reference is the conventional or arbitrary relationship between language and the world. Part of the word meaning is the reference.
1.2 Concept
Though meaning and concept are closely related, they belong to different categories: Concept is the result of human cognition while meaning is the result of language use.
1.3 Sense
Sense denotes the intrinsic semantic relationship inside the language. it is not concerned with the connection between words and what these words indicate in the word. The sense of an expression is its place in a system of semantic relationships with other expressions in the language.
2．Motivation
Motivation refers to the connection between the linguistic symbol and its meaning.Most words are non-motivated.
2.1． Onomatopoeic motivation
The sounds of some words suggest their meanings, because they are created by imitating the natural sounds. But these onomatopoeic words are also largely conventional, because different languages may use different forms to indicate these sounds.
2.2 Semantic motivation
Semantic motivation explains the relationships between the literal sense and the figurative sense through associations.
2.3 Etymological motivation
Etymological motivation means that the meanings of words can be explained with reference to etymological information. Very often, the history of the word can explain why a form has acquired a particular meaning.
2.4 Morphological motivation
Morphological motivation tries to establish the connection of meaning of the word to its form from morphological point of view. Sometimes, we can work out the meaning of a word if we know the meaning of the morphemes that constitute that word.
3．Types of meaning
Chapter 6 Sense Relations and Semantic Field
1．Polysemy
Polysemy refers to the phenomenon in which one and the same word has more than one meaning.
1.1 Two approaches to polysemy
1) Diachronic approach: Polysemy is described as the result of the historical development of the semantic features of one and the same word.
2) Synchronic approach: Polysemy is viewed as the co-existence of various meanings of the same word at a particular point in time.
1.2 Two processes of development
1) Radiation：It is the semantic process in which the primary meaning stands at the centre and the secondary meaning radiates out of it. Though the secondary meanings are independent of one another, they can all be traced back to the primary meaning.
2)Concatenation: It is the semantic process in which the meaning of a word moves gradually away from its primary meaning in succession so that the present meaning seems to have no connection to the primary meaning.
2.Homonymy
There are many pairs or groups of words, which, though different in meaning, are pronounced alike or spelled alike, or both. Such words are called homonyms.
2.1 Types of homonyms
1)Perfect homonyms: They are different words identical both in sound and spelling, though different in meaning.
2)Homographs: Homographs are different words identical in spelling, but different in sound and meaning.
3)Homophones:They are different words identical in sound but differentinspelling and meaning
2.2 origins of homonyms
Origins of homonyms are change in sound and spelling, borrowing and shortening.
3．Synonymy
Synonymy refers to the relationship of similarity or identity in meaning.Synonyms are the words which have the same or very nearly the same essential meaning.
3.1 Sources of synonyms
1) borrowing
2)dialects and regional English
3)figurative and euphemistic use of words
3.2 Discrimination of synonyms
1)Difference in denotation
2)Difference in the degree of a given quality
3)Differences in associative meanings
4)Differences in use
4． Antonymy
Antonymy is used for oppositeness of meaning; words that are opposite are antonyms.
4.1 Types of antonyms
1) Contraries:
Contraries display a type of semantic contrast, illustrated by such pairs as rich and poor. Contraries are gradable, and the semantic contrast in a contrary pair is relative; i.e. there are often intermediate terms between the two opposites. So the negation of one does not necessarily mean the assertion of the other.
2) Contradictory terms
Contradictory terms are also called complementarities. The meanings of these terms are mutually exclusive and no possiblities are allowed between them. the assertion of one is the negation of the other.
3)Relative terms
They show a reciprocal social relationship and a contrast of direction. One of the two presupposes the other of the two.
4.2 Some characteristics of antonyms
1)Antonyms are classified on the basis of meaning
2)A polysemic word may have more than one antonym.
3)Antonyms can be analysed in terms of markedness. The meaning of one of the pair may be more general and more semantically inclusive than the meaning of the other of the two.
4.3 The use of antonyms
1) Antonyms can be used to define meanings of words.
2)Antonyms can be used for efficient expression of an opposite idea, etc.
3)Antonyms can be used for emphatic effect.
5．Hyponymy
Hyponymy refers to the relationship of semantic inclusion. Words with more specific meaning or narrower meaning are hyponyms, while words with more inclusive or general meanings are superordinate terms. The status either as superordinate or subordinate is only relative.
6．Semantic field
Semantic field is a term to refer to the phenomenon that vocabulary is an integrated system interrelated in sense and can be divided into semantically related sets or fields. Words in each semantic field defines one another.
Chapter 7 Changes in Word Meaning
1．Types of changes
1)Extension
The extension of meaning, the opposite of restriction, means the widening of a word's sense until it covers much more than what it originally conveyed.
2)Narrowing
Narrowing of meaning, also called restriction of meaning, means that a word of wide meaning acquires a narrower, specialised sense which is applicable to only one of the objects it previously denoted.
3)Elevation
When the meaning of a word narrows toward a more favourable meaning it is called elevation
4)Degradation
Degradation means the falling of word meaning into disrepute, for one reason or another. Words once respectable or neutral may shift to a less respectable, or even derogatory meaning.
2. Causes of changes
1)Extra-linguistic factors
(1)historical reason
(2)class reason
(3)psychological reason
2)Linguistic factors
(1)shortening
(2)borrowing
(3)analogy
Chapter 8 Meaning and Context
1． Types of context
1)Extra-linguistic context
It is also called non-linguistic context, which includes people, place, time, relevant objects, background knowledge etc..
2)Linguistic context
It refers to all the words that go before or come after the word in question.
2． Roles of context
1)Elimination of ambiguity
2)Indication of referents
3)Providing clues for inferring meanings such as:
(1)Definition (2)Explanation
(3)Examples (4)Synonymy
(5)Antonymy (6)Hyponymy
(7)Relevant details (8)Word structure
1. Characteristics of idioms
1) Semantic unity
Each idiom is a semantic unity. The semantic unity can be reflected by the fact that the meaning of an idiom is very often not the total sum of the meanings of the constituent words. The semantic unity can also be shown in the illogical relations between the literal meanings of the constituent words and the meaning of the idiom.
2) Structural stability
Structural stability means that the structure of an idiom usually remains unchangeable. In other words, the constituent components of an idiom can not, generally speaking, be replaced.
2. Classification of idioms
1) Idioms norminal in nature:
They function as nouns in a sentence.
2) Idioms adjectival in nature
They function as adjectives in a sentence.
3)Idioms verbal in nature
They function as verbs in a sentence.
4)Idioms adverbial in nature
They function as adverbials in a sentence.
5)Sentence idioms
Such idioms are usually in complete sentential form. They are usually proverbs or sayings.
3.Use of idioms
1) Stylistic features
Different idioms show different stylistic meanings. Some are casual, others formal, still others neural in style. The same idiom may show stylistic differences when denoting different meanings.
2)Rhetorical features
(1)Phonetic manipulation
a. alliteration such as "chop and change"
b. rhyme such as "toil and moil"
(2)Lexical manipulation
a. reiteration, which means the duplication of synonyms such as "chop and change"
b. repetition, which means the repetition of the same word, such as "by and by"
c. juxtaposition, which means the combination of two antonyms such as "day and night"
(3) Figures of speech
a. simile: as proud as a peacock
b. metaphor: white elephant
c. metonymy: velvet glove
d. synecdoche: earn one's bread
e. personification: Failure is the mother of success
4. Variations of idioms
1)addition: "in good condition" from "in condition"
2) deletion: "the last straw" from "It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back."
3) position-shifting: "The Johnsons keep up with sb" from "keep up with the Johnsons"
4) replacement: "wash one's clean linen in public" from "wash one's dirty linen in public"
Idioms are terse, vivid and expressive.
Chapter 10 English dictionaries
1.Types of dictionaries
1) Monolingual dictionaries vs.bilingual dictionaries
Monolingual dictionaries are written in one language, while bilingual dictionaries are written in two languages.Bilingual dictionaries are of the two types". One is that the entries are defined and explained in the same language with translations.The other is that the entries are defined in one language and given their foreign equivalents.
2)Linguistic and encyclopedic dictionaries
Linguistic dictionaries aim at providing linguistic information about the head words, such as pronounciation, spelling, meaning, part of speech, etc..
Encyclopedic dictionaries are of the two kinds:one is encyclopedia, which aims at providing encylopedic information about the headwords. The other is encyclopedic dictionary, which shares the characteristics of both a linguistic dictionary and an encyclopedia.
3)Unabridged, Desk and Pocket Dictionaries
An unabridged dictionary is, theoretically, a complete record of all the words in use, though in fact, it is not.
A desk dictionary is a medium-sized dictionary which usually has a vocabulary of about 50,000 to 150,000.
A pocket dictionary usually contains a vocabulary of less than 50,000 words. A pocket dictionary usually provides only the information related to pronounciation and spelling.
4)Specialized dictionaries
Specialized dictionaries usually focus on one area of knowledge. They provide detailed information in a particular subject.
2. Use of dictionaries
1) Choice of dictionaries
The following factors should be considered:
(1) the dictionary users' level of English
(2) the kind of information that dictionary users want to consult a dictionary for
(3) the varieties of English
(4) the purpose of consulting a dictionary
(5) the date of publication
3.Three good general dictionaries
1) Longman dictionary of contemorary English ( new edition)
2) Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary
3)A Chinese-English Dictionary
