English Words

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English Words
‘The air is always thick with our verbal emissions. There are so many things we want to tell the world.
Some of them are important, some of them are not. But we talk anyway. A life without words would be a
horrendous privation.’
(from the Introduction)
Words and language, keys to human identity, are fascinating subjects. The aim of this book is to arouse
curiosity about English words and about the nature of language in general, especially among students who
are not intending to specialise in linguistics.
The book covers a wide range of topics, including the structure of words, the meaning of words, how
their spelling relates to pronunciation, how new words are manufactured or imported from other languages,
and how the meaning of words changes with the passage of time. It also investigates how the mind deals
with words by highlighting the amazing intellectual feat performed routinely when the right word is
retrieved from the mental dictionary during conversation. Words of all sorts are examined—from great
poetry, nonsense verse and journalism to advertising. It is demonstrated that in their very different ways
they are all worthy of serious study.
This textbook is an accessible descriptive introduction, suitable for students of English language and
communication, showing how the nature of words can be illuminated by insights from a broad range of areas
of linguistics and related subjects.
Francis Katamba is Lecturer in Linguistics at Lancaster University. His publications include
Morphology
(1993) and Introduction to Phonology (1989).

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English Words
Francis Katamba
London and New York

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First published 1994
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to
www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
© 1994 Francis Katamba
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Katamba, Francis
English words/Francis Katamba
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. English language—Lexicology. I. Title
PE1571.K38 1994
423 .028–dc20 93–33393
ISBN 0-203-20528-6 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-20531-6 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-10467-X (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-10468-8 (pbk)

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To
Janet,
Francis and Helen

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Contents
Preface
x
Acknowledgements
xii
Abbreviations
xiv
Key to symbols used
xvi