The Vocabulary of World English

by Gramley, Stephan

• ISBN13: 9780340740729
• ISBN10: 0340740728
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-12-20
• Publisher: Hodder Education Publishers

Summary

The Vocabulary of World English is for anyone, particularly college and university students, interested in English vocabulary, but with little or no previous knowledge of linguistics. The book pursues and intertwines four different sets of goals: first, it looks at the vocabulary of a wide variety of areas drawn from basic semantic fields, ranging from "life and living things" to "entertainment, sports, and games". At the same time it pays special attention to words in a number of different kinds of English, especially geographical-national varieties, but also those determined by age, gender, ethnicity, function, field, and style. Furthermore, the most important areas of linguistics which touch on words are introduced. Most central to this is lexicology (the study of words), meaning, and word formation, but also included are a historical review of the sources of English words and several lexical aspects of grammar, as well as brief forays into pronunciation and spelling. Finally, since this book is intended to be an introduction, a great deal of emphasis is placed on clear and accessible exercises (with key) and projects which are intended to familiarize the book's users with resources and techniques that are helpful in the study of vocabulary. An extensive bibliography and a glossary of some 350 terms are included.

Table of Contents

Studying the variety in the vocabulary of English

English in the British Isles: the sources of words and the meaning of meaning

English in America: how to compare meaning and vocabulary

English in the Southern Hemisphere: vocabulary change

Whose English? English as a second, foreign or international language

The new Englishes: linguistic dimensions of vocabulary difference

English in action: social dimensions of vocabulary differences

International English: how native and non-native speakers use words

Convergence or divergence?

Solutions to exercises

Comments on the projects

Dictionaries, thesauruses and encyclopedias

Bibliography

Glossary and Index

Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.