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1、Lexical Change in English Abstract: As the time goes by, changes of English strike our eyes quickly and easily. Especially, the changes in lexical items are comparatively more obvious and noticeable. Therefore，a description and explanation of this change is necessary for any comprehensive diachronic
2、 theory. And a study of lexical change supports and suggests modifications for the theories of language change of Weinreich, Labov, and Herzog and Samuels. We can see the rarest neologisms are nonce words and words created from scratch (zero-derivatives). Somewhat more common are words consisting of
3、 new or uncommon morphs combined with more ordinary ones. Least rare are new combinations of old morphs, borrowings from other languages, cultures or specialized or non-elite dialects, words created by analogy, and words modified to fit new syntactic slots. Words may simply have their semantic range
4、 altered or existing words may fossilize in phrases acting as single semantic units. Lexical change usually involves material already present in the language system or in that of a contact system. It occurs in all idiolects and registers in response to definable linguistic forces, in various degrees
5、 of consciousness and its diffusion, while not necessarily predictable, can be mapped according to a number of specific linguistic, social and psychological variables. Particular attention is paid to the neutralization of sex references where they are not contextually relevant. Then, the following p
6、assage is mainly focused on illustrating the lexical changes of English.Key words: lexical change English language words I. Introduction Lexical change is probably the most frequent type of language change and certainly the easiest to observe. Generally speaking, there are mainly two possible ways o
7、f lexical changes: the addition and loss of words, which often reflects the introduction of new objects and notions in social practices. For the addition of new words, there are a number of ways such as coinage, clipped words, blending, acronyms, back-formation, functional shift, and borrowing. Mean
8、while, new words may come into a language, and some words can disappear in use over time, which can be seen obviously from reading any Shakespeares works. Intriguingly, in the case of wireless, the word has experienced something of a revival. If you hear the word wireless used by a younger speaker,
9、they are almost certainly using it as an adjective rather than a noun and referring to wireless technology, from WAP phones to blackberries and laptops. This exemplifies perfectly how words can virtually disappear or gradually shift in meaning and usage. II. Demonstration2.1 Addition of new words2.1
10、.1 Coinage A new word can be coined outright to fit some purpose, mostly for new things and objects. The following is some examples:Kodak Xerox Taikonaut memory stick digital camera mouse potato 2.1.2 Clipped wordsClipping also called abbreviations is one way in which we change words. A great number
11、 of English words have undergone the process of abbreviation in their etymological history. A new word can be created by cutting the final part or cutting the initial part or cutting both the initial and final parts. Thus, we may shorten dormitory to dorm and thereby create a new word, or we may cha
12、nge condominium to condo. We use the longer term if the situation is more formal and the shorter term if the situation is more informal. However, the new term may entirely replace the longer original word. For example, the word “flu” is created by cutting both the initial and final parts “influenza”
13、. Clipping is a common feature of in-group talk and of slang. For instance, English speakers in Japan have clipped befriended to friended to mark times when they assume the language teachers role outside the classroom, as in “I was friended on the train today” when the speaker was surrounded by stud
14、ents who wanted to practice their English. Additionally, it is observed English speakers tend to use abbreviations for each others names, such as Bob for Robert, Ed for Edward, Liz for Elizabeth, Mike for Michael. Abbreviation is also popular in educational domain, such as chem for chemistry, gym fo
15、r gymnasium, lab for laboratory, math for mathematics. 2.1.3 Blending Blending is a relatively complex form of compounding, in which two words are blended by joining the initial part of the first word and the final part of the second word, or by joining the initial parts of the two words. They can b
16、e exemplified by the following two sets of examples respectively. Smogsmoke+fogMotelmotor+hotelBrunchbreakfast+lunchAlso, product advertising, the entertainment industry, bureaucracies, and technical fields seem to produce the largest number of blends. Eurail, Medicare, camcorder, and sitcom have co
17、me into the language in this way. Product names are often blends. Velveeta is a blend of velvet, eat, and cheese. 2.1.4 Acronym Acronym is made up from the first letters of the name of an organization, which has a heavily modified headword. This process is also widely used in shortening extremely lo
18、ng words of word groups in science, technology and other special fields. Take CEO for an example，its full name is “chief executive officer”and IT is “information technology”，CPI is “consumer price index.” 2.1.5 Back-formation Back-information refers to an abnormal type of word-forma-non where a shor
19、ter word is derived by deleting an imagined affix from a longer form already in the language. Take televise for an example, the word television predated the occurrence of the word televise. The first part of the word television was pulled out and analyzed as a root, even though no such root occurs e
20、lsewhere in the English language. Many back-formations in English come from words which end in er or or, such as peddler, swindler and stoker. From these words come peddle, swindle and stoke respectively. 2.1.6 Functional shiftWords may shift from one part of speech to another without the addition o
21、f affixes, which is also called conversion. Noun-verb to knee to bugVerb-noun a hold a flyby 2.1.7 Borrowing English in its development has managed to widen her vocabulary Joy borrowing words from other languages. Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, Arabic and other languages have all played an active ro
22、le in this process. Throughout its history, the English language has adopted a vast number of words from various sources. When different cultures come into contact, words are often “borrowed” from one language to another. The loan word may label a new concept, or it may replace or become a synonym o
23、f a native word.The examples below are some of the loan words in English.Latin bonus education exit Greek tragedy cycle physics French prince question coup detat2.2 Loss of words The loss of words takes place gradually over the course of several generations. In contrast, the arrival of a new word is
24、 quite obvious and often draws attention due to its novelty. Many words go out of fashion, or the technology associated with them is replaced with new technology. Words become archaic or obsolete. For example, soap flakes is already obsolete, and wash board and rumble seat are on the way out. Beside
25、s, words such as beseem (to be suitable), fain (gladly), mammet (a doll or puppet), wot(to know) and so on in Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet are out of use today. 2.3 Causes for the changes 2.3.1 Influence of American English For many years, American English has been assaulting the British Isles with
26、 ever-increasing power and persistence through movies, newspapers, magazines, radio and television. Ever since that time, American English has been affecting English increasingly. 2.3.2 Other influences The causes for lexical changes are relatively obvious. For example, the rapid development of scie
27、nce and technology has led to the creation of many new words: bullet train, fax, laser printer, hi-tech. In addition, social and political changes and political needs have supplied the English vocabulary with a great number of new words and expressions: shuttle diplomacy, mini-summit, jungle war, to
28、 name just a few.To put it in a nutshell, the causes are various and complex, including social, political, historical, scientific and technological ones and also the increase of international contact can also make it happen. More often than not, new vocabulary or changes in fashionable usage spread
29、rapidly and evenly across the country due to our sophisticated communication links. III Conclusion The English language is always under constant development and change. Particularly, the lexicon of English is changing so rapidly and regularly that the description and explanation of this change is ne
30、cessary for any comprehensive diachronic theory and doing some research into this field is of great significance. Addition of new words can make great contribution to compiling a dictionary, making good use of English, adapting people into the new environment of language change. To put one aspect of
31、 it in an example，we can make confident assertions about the age of a speaker who uses the word courting to mean “going out with”, or one who uses the adjective fit to describe someone they find attractive, which is another practical aspect of it. References: 1. A New Concise Course in Linguistics for Students of English SHANGHAI FOREIGH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PRESS (SECOND EDITION)2. A Reader of English Lexicology SHANGHAI FOREIGH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PRESS
