Chapter One Introduction

  1.1 The Tower of Babel

  1.2 Lexicology

    1.2.1 What is lexicology?

    1.2.2 The scope of lexicology

    1.2.3 Lexicology and its related disciplines

  1.3 The structure of English vocabulary

  1.4 Lexical semantics

  1.5 Cognitive semantics

  Exercises and discussion questions

  Sources and suggestions for further reading

Chapter Two The Origin of English Words

  2.1 The origin of language

    2.1.1 The divine-source theory

    2.1.2 The natural-sound source theory

    2.1.3 The oral-gesture source theory

    2.1.4 The glossogenetic theory

    2.1.5 The physiological-adaptation theory

    2.1.6 The theory of interactions and transactions

  2.2 Historical development of English vocabulary

    2.2.1 The Old English Period

    2.2.2 The Middle English Period

    2.2.3 The Modem English Period

  2.3 Sources of English vocabulary

    2.3.1 The native elements

    2.3.2 The foreign elements

  Exercises and discussion questions

  Sources and suggestions for further reading

Chapter Three Word and Morphological Structure

  3.1 Defining a word

    3.1.1 Word as sound unit of language

    3.1.2 Word as the smallest free form of language

    3.1.3 Word as building block for phrase and sentence

    3.1.4 What is a word?

  3.2 Word and related notions

    3.2.1 Type and token

    3.2.2 Word form and lexeme

    3.2.3 Compound and free phrase

    3.2.4 Idiom and collocation

  3.3 Morphological structure of words

    3.3.1 Morpheme, morph and allomorph

    3.3.2 Classification of morphemes

  Exercises and discussion questions

  Sources and suggestions for further reading

Chapter Four Word Formation

  4.1 Introduction

  4.2 Root, stem and affix

  4.3 Inflection and derivation

    4.3.1 Inflection

    4.3.2 Derivation

    4.3.3 Some ordinary derivational affixes

  4.4 Ordinary processes of word formation

    4.4.1 Compounding

    4.4.2 Conversion

  4.5 Other processes of word formation

    4.5.1 Clipping

    4.5.2 Blending

    4.5.3 Backformation

    4.5.4 Acronym

    4.5.5 Initialism

  Exercises and discussion questions

  Sources and suggestions for further reading

Chapter Five Word Meaning

  5.1 The elusiveness of word meaning

  5.2 Major types of meaning

    5.2.1 Grammatical meaning

    5.2.2 Lexical meaning

  5.3 Sense and reference

  5.4 Sense relations between words

    5.4.1 Polysemy

    5.4.2 Homonymy

    5.4.3 Synonymy

    5.4.4 Antonymy

    5.4.5 Hyponymy

    5.4.6 Meronymy

    5.4.7 Semantic field

  Exercises and discussion questions

  Sources and suggestions for further reading

Chapter Six Major Approaches to Word Meaning

  6.1 The naming theory

  6.2 Componential analysis

  6.3 The cognitive approach

    6.3.1 The semantic triangle

    6.3.2 Prototype theory

    6.3.3 Levels of categorization

  6.4 The pragmatic approach

    6.4.1 Co-text vs. context

    6.4.2 Meaning in co-text

    6.4.3 Meaning in context

  6.5 The stylistic approach

    6.5.1 Style and stylistics

    6.5.2 Stylistic meaning of words

  Exercises and discussion questions

  Sources and suggestions for further reading

Chapter Seven Semantic Change of Word

    7.1 Change of meaning

    7.2 Approaches to semantic changes: Diachronic and synchronic

  7.3 Causes of semantic change: Linguistic and extra-linguistic

    7.3.1 Linguistic causes

    7.3.2 Extra-linguistic causes

  7.4 Mechanisms of semantic change

    7.4.1 Melioration vs. pejoration

    7.4.2 Generalization vs. specialization

    7.4.3 Subjectification

  Exercises and discussion questions

  Sources and suggestions for further reading

Chapter Eight Words in Action

  8.1 Varieties of English words

    8.1.1 Geographic vocabularies

    8.1.2 Jargon (Occupational varieties)

    8.1.3 Styles of vocabularies

  8.2 Words in context

    8.2.1 Words and context

    8.2.2 The role of context in shaping Word meaning

    8.2.3 Knowledge as context

    8.2.4 Common knowle