英语词汇学知识点总结.doc

Word-formation Word-formation or word-building is that branch of lexicology which studies the patterns on which a language, in this case, the English language, coins new words. Percentage of new words coined by the different word-formation processes after World War The three major processes of word formation: Composition or Compounding Definition: Compounding is a word-formation process consisting of joining two or more bases to form a new unit, a compound word. Compounding is the most productive word-formation process in contemporary English. Identity crisis 个性危机 stand-up collar 竖领 hit-and-run tactics 打了就跑的战术 spoon-feed 填鸭式灌输， 娇养 糊里糊涂 muddle-headed/minded 笨嘴笨舌 heavy-tongued 无忧无虑 carefree 饱经风霜weather-beaten/worn 令人心碎 heart-breaking 半死不活dead-alive/dead-and-alive 不合时宜 ill-timed/badly-timed 批量生产 mass-produce Compounds are very often used because of their brevity and vividness. For example, A schoolboy is more concise than “a boy attending school”; “Up-to-the-minute information” is more vivid than “the latest information” ; “The old man would sit for hours, thinking sadly of all the might-have-beens” is more compact and expressive than “…thinking sadly of the desirable things that could have happened in the past.” The relative criteria of a compound word Orthographic criterion(书写标准) : Compounds are written in three ways, e.g. solid: airmail; hyphenated: air-conditioning; open: air force, air raid. Phonological criterion(语音标准) : Compound accent: a single stress on the first element; or a main stress on the first element and a secondary stress on the second element. E.g. blackboard, blue ‘ bottle (a large buzzing fly with blue body) Normal phrase accent: a secondary stress on the first element and a main stress on the second element. E.g. ‘ blue bottle (a bottle which is blue) Semantic criterion(语义标准) : A compound is a combinat