语言学 03--Chapter Three Lexicon.ppt

Chapter Three Lexicon 1. What is word? A unit of expression that has universal intuitive recognition by native speakers, whether it is expressed in spoken or written form. – A vague definition. Three senses are involved in defining “word”, none of which is satisfactory to cope with all the situations. 1.1 Three senses of “word” A physical unit: a cluster of sound segments or letters between two pauses or blanks, eg Phonological: Orthographic: It is wonderful. Three words are recognized. However, in casual speech or writing, it often becomes: Phonological: Orthographic: It’s wonderful. Are they two words or three? A set of forms: walk, walks, walking, walked How many words are there? I usually have dinner at 6 but yesterday I had it at seven. How many times did the word “have” occur? A lexical item or a lexeme A lexical item is an entry in a dictionary. A lexeme WRITE includes all of its grammatical forms: write, writes, writing, wrote, written A grammatical unit: sentence clause phrase word morpheme Problem: blackboard 1.2 Identification of words Stability: stable linguistic units. chairman, but not *manchair Relative uninterruptibility: though we recognize three components in the word disappointment, we cannot pause and add another component in between, as in *disinterestappointment. But we can add another word between words: Paul, (John) and Mary ... A minimum free form: the smallest unit that can constitute a complete utterance by itself, eg —Is Jane coming tonight? —Possibly. Hi. Wonderful. 1.3 Classification of words Variable vs. Invariable Words: Variable words: write, writes, writing, wrote, written; cat, cats. Invariable words: since, when, seldom, through, etc. Grammatical vs. Lexical Words: Grammatical/Function words: conjunctions, prepositions, articles, pronouns. Lexical/Content words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs. Closed-class vs. Open-class Words: Closed-class words: New members cannot normally be added, eg pronouns, prepositions, conjuncti