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English Vocabulary: The Basics
English Vocabulary: The Basics offers a clear, non-jargonistic introduction to English vocabulary, the way linguists classify and explain it, and the place of vocabulary in our overall picture of the language, and in society. Introducing a range of terminology for discussing vocabulary, the reader is provided with a coherent, structured description of what we know about words and their meanings.

Key features of this book include:

• Analysis of historical roots of present-day words

• Coverage of the differences between speech and writing and between formality and informality

• Understanding of the social implications of choices that readers make to use standard or non-standard (e.g., regional/dialect) vocabulary

• A focus on British English with reference to a wide range of varieties of English that include North American English, Irish English, Indian English, Malaysian English, Nigerian English and Caribbean English.

Featuring a glossary of key terms, cartoons and illustrations, further reading, reflection points, interesting "factoids" and examples from corpora from around the world, this book is an engaging and thought-provoking read for anyone with an interest in English vocabulary.

1141580059
English Vocabulary: The Basics
English Vocabulary: The Basics offers a clear, non-jargonistic introduction to English vocabulary, the way linguists classify and explain it, and the place of vocabulary in our overall picture of the language, and in society. Introducing a range of terminology for discussing vocabulary, the reader is provided with a coherent, structured description of what we know about words and their meanings.

Key features of this book include:

• Analysis of historical roots of present-day words

• Coverage of the differences between speech and writing and between formality and informality

• Understanding of the social implications of choices that readers make to use standard or non-standard (e.g., regional/dialect) vocabulary

• A focus on British English with reference to a wide range of varieties of English that include North American English, Irish English, Indian English, Malaysian English, Nigerian English and Caribbean English.

Featuring a glossary of key terms, cartoons and illustrations, further reading, reflection points, interesting "factoids" and examples from corpora from around the world, this book is an engaging and thought-provoking read for anyone with an interest in English vocabulary.

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English Vocabulary: The Basics

English Vocabulary: The Basics

by Michael McCarthy
English Vocabulary: The Basics
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English Vocabulary: The Basics

English Vocabulary: The Basics

by Michael McCarthy

Overview

English Vocabulary: The Basics offers a clear, non-jargonistic introduction to English vocabulary, the way linguists classify and explain it, and the place of vocabulary in our overall picture of the language, and in society. Introducing a range of terminology for discussing vocabulary, the reader is provided with a coherent, structured description of what we know about words and their meanings.

Key features of this book include:

• Analysis of historical roots of present-day words

• Coverage of the differences between speech and writing and between formality and informality

• Understanding of the social implications of choices that readers make to use standard or non-standard (e.g., regional/dialect) vocabulary

• A focus on British English with reference to a wide range of varieties of English that include North American English, Irish English, Indian English, Malaysian English, Nigerian English and Caribbean English.

Featuring a glossary of key terms, cartoons and illustrations, further reading, reflection points, interesting "factoids" and examples from corpora from around the world, this book is an engaging and thought-provoking read for anyone with an interest in English vocabulary.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781032256962
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Publication date: 12/14/2022
Series: The Basics
Pages: 198
Product dimensions: 5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael McCarthy is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Nottingham, and Adjunct Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Limerick. He has (co-)authored and edited 58 books and was co-founder (with Ronald Carter) of the CANCODE spoken English corpus. He has lectured in 46 countries and has been involved in language teaching and applied linguistics for 57 years.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION TO THE READER

1 A WORD OR TWO ABOUT WORDS

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY ‘VOCABULARY’?

THE ‘ENGLISH’ IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY

AT LEAST WE KNOW WHAT WORDS ARE … DON’T WE?

SPACED OUT

EYES AND EARS

IT JUST FEELS RIGHT

I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN

MORPHEMES

TAKING WORDS TO PIECES

GRAMMAR AND LEXIS

WORDS STICK TOGETHER

COMPOUNDS

MULTI-WORD UNITS

IDIOMS

COLLOCATION

RECIPES FOR NEW WORDS

WORDS COME AND GO

NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN

HALF AND HALF

KEEP IT SHORT

LENDING AND BORROWING

CORPORA: LETTING THE DATA SPEAK

USING A CORPUS

CORPUS EXAMPLE (1): HARD-WORKING WORDS

CORPUS EXAMPLE (2): SPEAKING VERSUS WRITING

SUMMING UP

FURTHER READING

2 WHERE DO ENGLISH WORDS COME FROM?

THE DIM AND DISTANT PAST

THE BEGINNING OF ENGLISH

ANGLO-SAXONS

BEGINNING TO LOOK FAMILIAR: CHRONICLES AND MONSTERS

MORE INCOMERS

VIKINGS

A BIG CHANGE: THE NORMANS ARRIVE

PUTTING IT IN BLACK AND WHITE

TELLING TALES

PIERS PLOWMAN

INTO THE MODERN ERA

LANGUAGE ABOUT LANGUAGE

AN EXPANDING VOCABULARY

CIRCLING THE WORLD

A SETTLED LANGUAGE

SPELLING IT OUT

NEW WORLDS, NEW CULTURES

NEW TECHNOLOGIES, NEW ENGLISHES

FURTHER READING

3 WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

FROM FORM TO MEANING

WORDING THE WORLD

MAKING SENSE OF THE LEXICON

SAME OR DIFFERENT?

SYNONYMY

LOOKS THE SAME, SOUNDS THE SAME BUT …

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

CLASSIFYING THE WORLD

THE UPSIDE-DOWN TREE

SCIENTIFICALLY SPEAKING

FUZZY BORDERS AND STEREOTYPES

AN ARM AND A LEG: PARTS AND WHOLES

MAKING SENSE IN THE REAL WORLD

TAKING MEANING TO PIECES

PLUSES AND MINUSES TO EVERYTHING

WORDS, THE MIND AND THE WORLD

PRAGMATICS: WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

FURTHER READING

4 BEATING ABOUT THE BUSH: FIGURATIVE MEANING

JUST IMAGINE

ATOMS OR MOLECULES?

BITE-SIZED CHUNKS

ROOM FOR MANOUEVRE

AS CLEAR AS MUD: IDIOMS

DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN?

IN A NUTSHELL

IDIOM-PRONE

LOOK AT IT THIS WAY

METAPHORS

PROVERBS AND METAPHORS

TROPES GALORE

HERE COMES THE ARMY: METONYMY

NO EXAGGERATION: HYPERBOLE

A NOT UNINTERESTING TROPE: UNDERSTATEMENT

EUPHEMISMS

SUMMARY

FURTHER READING

5 BEAR THIS IN MIND: THE MENTAL LEXICON

A REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT

HOW DID IT ALL GET THERE? ACQUIRING VOCABULARY

DESIGNING A HUMAN

ONE WORD AT A TIME

TELEGRAMS FROM A CHILD

MORE THAN ONE WAY OF SAYING THINGS

SPELL IT OUT

WHERE ARE ALL THOSE WORDS?

MIND AND BRAIN: THE MENTAL LEXICON

HOW DOES IT WORK?

FASTER THAN YOU CAN SAY JACK ROBINSON

WHAT COMES INTO YOUR HEAD?

JUST A SLIP OF THE TONGUE?

IN TWO MINDS AGAIN

CONCLUSION

FURTHER READING

6 VOCABULARY IN ACTION

WORDS OUT THERE

LANGUAGE SNAPSHOTS

HARD WORDS

NOT IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN

LETTING THE MACHINE DECIDE: CORPORA

QUIZZING THE DATA

EXCHANGING A FEW WORDS

LET’S NOT GO INTO DETAIL

SO, CONSEQUENTLY …

WINDOWS ON CULTURE

WORDS ON THE MOVE

NAUGHTY BUT NICE

A NOTICEABLE UPTICK

SHOWING YOUR AGE

MAPPING ENGLISH VOCABULARY

VARIETIES

DIFFERENT VOICES: DIALECTS AND SOCIOLECTS

SPECIAL VOCABULARIES

WORDS AND THE IMAGINATION

FLOUTING CONVENTIONS

OLD WORDS, NEW MEANINGS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

HAVING A LAUGH

EDUCATION AND LEARNING

GROWING UP WITH WORDS

SECOND LANGUAGE VOCABULARY

THE END OF THE BEGINNING

FURTHER READING

GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS

REFERENCES

INDEX

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