English Words - Francis Katamba - Introduction to the Nature of Words

Sep 28, 2026

English Words by Francis Katamba is an accessible descriptive introduction to English vocabulary and the nature of language. It explores how words are structured, how their meanings work, and how spelling connects to pronunciation. The book examines how new words are created or borrowed across languages, how word meanings shift over time, and how the mind retrieves words during conversation. It surveys linguistic perspectives and applies them to diverse word types, from poetry to advertising.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages221

Reading Time9 h 17 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

Introduction

Why study words?

Overview of coming chapters

What is a word?

Words are like liquorice allsorts

Word-forms

Words as vocabulary items

Grammatical words

Close encounters of a morphemic kind

The quest for verbal atoms

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) . English Words Francis Katamba London and New York 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](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](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) To Janet, Francis and Helen Contents Preface x Acknowledgements xii Abbreviations xiv Key to symbols used xvi 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Why study words? 1 1.2 Overview of coming chapters 4 2 What is a word? 6 2.1 Introduction 6 2.2 Words are like liquorice allsorts 7 2.2.1 Word-forms 7 2.2.2 Words as vocabulary items 11 2.2.3 Grammatical words 15 2.3 Summary 17 Exercises 18 3 Close encounters of a morphemic kind 19 3.1 The quest for verbal atoms 19 3.2 Close morphological encounters: zooming in on morphemes 19 3.3 Morphemes and their disguises 22 3.3.1 Allomorphs: morph families 22 3.3.2 Contrast 25 3.4 Freedom and bondage 26 3.5 Sound symbolism: phonaesthemes and onomatopoeia 27 3.6 Verbal blueprints 28 vi 3.6.1 Tiny words (isolating languages) 30 3.6.2 Get the glue (agglutinating languages) 31 3.6.3 Labyrinthine words (synthetic languages) 31 3.6.4 Verbal juggernauts (polysynthetic languages) 33 3.6.5 No thoroughbreds 33 3.7 Summary 35 Exercises 35 4 Building words 37 4.

FAQs

What is the main goal of English Words?

The aim is to arouse curiosity about English words and the nature of language, especially for students not specializing in linguistics.

Which topics does the book cover about English words?

It covers word structure, word meaning, the link between spelling and pronunciation, word creation and borrowing, and how meanings change over time.

How does the book describe the role of the mind in using words?

It highlights the mental process of retrieving the right word from the mental dictionary during conversation, explaining an everyday intellectual feat.

Sep 28, 2026

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