English Vocabulary Elements

Description

English Vocabulary Elements draws on the tools of modern linguistics to help students acquire an effective understanding of learned, specialized, and scientific vocabulary. This fully refined and updated edition helps develop familiarity with over 500 Latin and Greek word elements in English and shows how these roots are the building blocks within thousands of different words. Along the way, the authors introduce and illustrate many of the fundamental concepts of linguistics, sketch word origins going back to Latin, Greek, and even Proto-Indo-European, and discuss issues around meaning change and correct usage. Moreover, the volume adds new illustrative examples, self-help tests, and study questions. A companion website provides supplementary materials including an Instructor's Manual with an answer key. Offering a thorough approach to the expansion of vocabulary, English Vocabulary Elements is an invaluable resource that provides students a deeper understanding of the language.

About the authors:

William R. Leben is Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at Stanford University. Brett Kessler is Associate Professor Emeritus in Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis. Keith Denning was Professor of Linguistics at Eastern Michigan University.

Table of contents

Preface
List of Figures
List of Tables
Symbols and Abbreviations
1. The Wealth of English
2. The History of English and Sources of English Vocabulary
3. Morphology: The Structure of Complex Words
4. Allomorphy
5. Phonetics
6. Regular Allomorphy; Numeric Elements
7. Meaning Change
8. Usage and Variation
9. Latin and Greek morphology
10. The Prehistory of English and the Other Indo- European Languages
11. Later Changes: From Latin to French to English
Appendix 1. Elements to Glosses
Appendix 2. Glosses to Elements
Glossary
Further Reading and Research Tools
Index