本书以现代语言学理论为基础，以英语词汇为研究对象，共12章，内容涉及英语词汇的 构成、发展变化、形态结构、构成方式及语义关系、词义的发展变化、词的搭配与习语、美 式英语与英式英语的词汇区别以及英语词汇学习策略等。每章末设有活泼多样的练习题，以 深化读者对理论知识的理解与应用。书后另附美式英语与英式英语词汇对照表，供读者参考 使用。 本书适合普通高校英语专业学生和具有一定英语基础、对英语词汇学感兴趣的读者 使用。

Chapter 1 Introduction1 11 What Is Lexicology?2 12 English Lexicology and Its Relation to Other Disciplines2 13 Methods of Word Study 3 14 Aims and Significance of the Course4 Exercises4 Chapter 2 Basic Concepts of Words and Vocabulary7 21 Definition of a Word8 22 Sound and Meaning 9 23 Sound and Form 9 24 Vocabulary 10 25 Classification of Words11 251 Basic Word Stock and Non-Basic Vocabulary 11 252 Content Words and Functional Words 14 253 Native Words and Borrowed Words14 Exercises 15 Chapter 3 The Developing English Vocabulary17 31 The Indo-European Language Family 18 32 A Historical Overview of the English Vocabulary 18 321 The Period of Old English (450 CE–1100 CE)19 322 The Period of Middle English (1100 CE–1500 CE)20 323 The Period of Modern English (After 1500 CE)21 33 Growth of Present-Day English Vocabulary 23 331 The Rapid Development of Science and Technology 23 332 Political, Economic, and Cultural Changes in Society24 333 The Formation of New Vocabulary28 34 Modes of Vocabulary Development 29 Exercises 30 Chapter 4 Morphological Structure of Words33 41 The Concept of Morpheme 34 411 Types of Morphemes 34 412 Roots, Stems, and Bases36 42 Major Processes of Word Formation 37 421 Derivation38 422 Conversion44 423 Compounding48 43 Minor Processes of Word Formation 54 431 Clipping54 432 Blending55 433 Acronymy: Initialisms and Acronyms57 434 Back-Formation59 435 Words from Proper Names60 436 Miscellaneous63 Exercises 64 Chapter 5 Word Meaning, Polysemy, and Homonymy67 51 Motivation 68 511 Phonetic Motivation68 512 Morphological Motivation69 513 Semantic Motivation69 52 Main Types of Word Meaning 70 521 Grammatical Meaning70 522 Lexical Meaning71 523 Social or Stylistic Meaning73 524 Affective Meaning77 525 Reflected Meaning79 526 Collocative Meaning80 527 Contextual Meaning80 53 Componential Analysis and Semantic Features 81 531 Componential Analysis on the Basis of Semantic Contrast82 532 The Role of Componential Analysis in English Lexical Teaching83 Exercises 84 Chapter 6 Sense Relations Between Words87 61 Synonymy 88 611 Complete Synonyms88 612 Relative Synonyms89 613 Other Types of Synonymy94 62 Antonymy 95 621 Types of Antonyms95 622 Different Antonyms of One Word97 623 Marked and Unmarked Members98 624 Asymmetry in the Pragmatic Uses 99 625 The Rhetorical Use of Antonyms100 63 Hyponymy101 64 Polysemy103 641 Definition103 642 Two Processes Leading to Polysemy103 65 Homonymy104 651 Types of Homonyms105 652 Sources of Homonyms106 653 The Rhetorical Features of Polysemy and Homonymy107 66 Meronymy/Holonymy108 661 Definition108 662 Distinction Between Meronymy/Holonymy and Hyponymy 108 663 Types of Meronymy109 67 Semantic Field109 Exercises 111 Chapter 7 Changes in Word Meaning115 71 Causes of Changes in Word Meaning116 711 Historical and Social Causes 117 712 Psychological Cause 119 713 Linguistic Cause 121 714 Foreign Influences 122 72 Four Tendencies in Semantic Change 122 721 Extension of Meaning123 722 Restriction of Meaning125 723 Elevation of Meaning 127 724 Degeneration of Meaning 128 73 Semantic Changes Resulting from the Figurative Use of Words130 731 Metaphor131 732 Synaesthesia 132 733 Metonymy 133 734 Synecdoche 133 Exercises135 Chapter 8 Meaning and Context137 81 Types of Context138 811 Linguistic Context138 812 Extra-Linguistic Context141 82 Role of Context in Deciding Word Meaning143 821 Eliminating Ambiguities143 822 Specifying Referents and the Range of the Meaning 145 823 Conveying Emotional Overtones 147 83 How to Guess Word Meaning from Context149 831 Lexical Clues149 832 Syntactical Restrictions 152 833 Semantic or Logical Connections 153 834 The Role of Topic Sentence 154 835 The Role of Background Knowledge 155 Exercises156 Chapter 9 Multi-Word Expressions159 91 Characteristics of Multi-Word Expressions160 92 Importance of Multi-Word Expressions163 93 Common Types of Multi-Word Expressions164 94 Challenges of Learning Multi-Word Expressions for L2 Learners165 Exercises168 Chapter 10 Idioms173 101 Definition of Idioms174 102 Sources of English Idioms175 1021 From Daily Life175 1022 From Food and Cooking176 1023 From Body Parts177 1024 From Names of Animals178 1025 From Military or Sailor’s Life179 1026 From Literary Works180 1027 From Other Languages180 1028 From Other Sources181 103 Classification of English Idioms181 1031 Nominal Phrases182 1032 Verbal Phrases184 1033 Adjectival Idiomatic Expressions188 1034 Adverbial and Prepositional Idiomatic Expressions190 1035 Proverbs192 104 Syntactic, Structural, and Stylistic Features194 1041 Syntactic Function194 1042 Structural Features196 1043 Stylistic Features199 105 Beware of Translation Traps201 Exercises 205 Chapter 11 Differences Between American English and British English209 111 Growth of American English210 1111 Before Independence (1607 CE–1789 CE)211 1112 From Independence to the Early 19th Century (1789 CE–1860 CE)212 1113 From the Early 19th Century to the Present Time (1860 CE–Present)213 112 Characteristics of American English214 1121 Conservatism and Innovation214 1122 Heterogeneity217 1123 Uniformity in Speech 219 1124 Verbose and Plain Style in Writing220 1125 Popularity of Slang221 113 Differences Between American English and British English 222 1131 Differences in Pronunciation222 1132 Differences in Spelling225 1133 Differences in Grammar and Usage227 1134 Differences in Vocabulary231 114 A Brief Summary 235 Exercises 236 Chapter 12 Vocabulary Learning237 121 Vocabulary Knowledge 238 1211 Components of Vocabulary Knowledge238 1212 Receptive and Productive Vocabulary Knowledge240 122 Approaches to Vocabulary Learning 241 1221 Incidental Vocabulary Learning241 1222 Intentional Vocabulary Learning244 123 Resources for Learning Vocabulary 246 1231 Dictionaries246 1232 Online Resources for Vocabulary Learning250 References255 Appendix: Difference Between American English and British English265