Words in the Mind An Introduction to the Mental Lexicon

by Aitchison, Jean

• ISBN13: 9780470656471
• ISBN10: 0470656476
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-02-21
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Featuring new coverage of the brain and language, and lexical corpora, the 4th edition of Words in the Mind offers readers the latest thinking about the ways in which we learn words, remember them, understand them, and find the ones we want to use. Explores the latest insights into the complex relationship between language, words, and the human mind, creating a rich and revealing resource for students and non-specialists alike Addresses the structure and content of the human word-store the 'mental lexicon' with particular reference to the spoken language of native English speakers Features a wealth of new material, including an all-new chapter focusing exclusively on the brain and language, and enhanced coverage of lexical corpora computerized databases and on lexical change of meaning Incorporates numerous updates throughout, including expansion of many notes and suggestions for further reading Comprises state-of-the-art research, yet remains accessible and student-friendly

Author Biography

Jean Aitchison is Emeritus Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford. She is the author of numerous books on language, including Language Change: Progress or Decay? (Third Edition, 2001), The Word Weavers: Newshounds and Wordsmiths (2007), Aitchison's Linguistics (Seventh Edition, 2010), and The Articulate Mammal (Routledge Classics Edition, 2011).

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Abbreviations and Symbols	p. xiii
Aims and Evidence	p. 1
Welcome to Dictionopolis!	p. 3
The human word-store
Links in the Chain	p. 18
Assessing the evidence
Programming Dumbella	p. 32
Modeling the mental lexicon
Brainy Matters	p. 42
The physical underlay
Basic Ingredients	p. 51
Slippery Customers	p. 53
Attempts to pin down the meaning of words
Bad Birds and Better Birds	p. 66
Prototype theories
Whispering Chambers of the Imagination	p. 80
Mental models
The Primordial Atomic Globule Hunt	p. 90
The search for semantic primitives
Word-webs	p. 99
Semantic networks
Close Companions	p. 113
Words which cling together
Lexical All-sorts	p. 119
Parts of speech
Verb Power	p. 131
The role of verbs
Bits of Words	p. 145
The internal architecture of words
Taking Care of the Sounds	p. 157
Dealing with the sound patterns
Newcomers	p. 169
Multiple Meanings	p. 171
The polysemy problem
Interpreting Ice-cream Cones	p. 182
Metaphor and metonymy
Globbering Mattresses	p. 194
Creating new words
What is a Bongaloo, Daddy?	p. 209
How children learn the meaning of words
Aggergog Miggers, Wips and Gucks	p. 222
How children cope with the sounds of words
The Overall Picture	p. 235
Seeking and Finding	p. 237
Selecting words
Organized Guesswork	p. 248
Recognizing words
Odd Arrangements and Funny Solutions	p. 261
The organization pf the mental lexicon
Last Word	p. 267
Final comments and future questions
Notes	p. 270
References	p. 292
Index	p. 327
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