古希腊罗马神话对英语词汇的影响.doc

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1、北方民族大学学士学位论文 论文题目: 古希腊罗马神话对英语词汇的影响 word文档 可自由复制编辑On the Impact of Greco-Roman Mythology on English VocabularyBy AA LAA Submitted toThe School of Foreign Language and LiteratureBeifang University of NationalitiesIn Partial Fulfillment ofThe Requirements forThe Bachelor Degree of Arts in EnglishUnder

2、the Supervision of ZAAAMay 2014word文档 可自由复制编辑Acknowledgments In the process of composing this paper, I would like to extend my deepest and sincerest gratitude to all teachers in the foreign language department of Beifang University of Nationalities, especially my supervisor, Mrs. Zhang. She is reall

3、y a very responsible, knowledgeable and kind-hearted scholar. During the course of writing the thesis, she has provided me with a lot of extremely valuable suggestions and delicate instructions with patience. Her serious attitude towards work and students has influenced me with heart and soul. She r

4、ead and corrected my mistakes of this paper again and again very carefully. Without her instruction and assistance, it would be definitely impossible for me to complete this paper. Besides, I would also show my thanks to Mrs. Yang who in last semester was my teacher of the course Guidance on Writing

5、 Graduating Paper. She supervised me to finish the first draft of this paper and also gave me some helpful advice. At last, I would express my great appreciation to all my friends, especially my three lovely roommates, for their encouragement and support.word文档 可自由复制编辑摘 要作为西方文化两大源头之一， 古希腊罗马神话不仅对世界文化

6、社会，而且对语言也产生了深远的影响。在历经几千年的历史之后，古希腊罗马神话在当今世界文化遗产中仍然占有十分重要的地位。同时它还被众多学者视为提升文化修养和拓宽视野的必要因素。在英语中，以其为渊源的词汇广泛渗透到英语词汇的各个方面。因为语言是文化的一部分，所以大量的英语单词均来源于古希腊罗马神话。由于词汇是语言的根基，任何精通英语的人必定也掌握大量的词汇以及那种语言下的文化。如果不了解希腊罗马神话的话，要想抓住英语词汇的深层含义是很难的。本文主要通过分析希腊罗马神话的重要性和对源于古希腊罗马神话的英语词汇和习语等分类阐述，以求对其影响达到系统性的归纳总结。关键词： 古希腊罗马神话， 英语词汇，

7、影响word文档 可自由复制编辑AbstractAs one of the two origins of western culture, Greco-Roman Mythology has a profound and long-lasting influence not only on world culture and society but also on language. Having gone through thousands of years, it is still of great importance in the World Cultural Heritage. Me

8、anwhile, it has been seen by many scholars as an essential part to improve their knowledge and broaden their horizons. Words originated from Greco-Roman Mythology can be found and applied in every aspect of English. The ancient Greco-Roman mythology, has made a very important impact on the western c

9、ulture. Since language is a part of culture, there are many English words which originated from Greco-Roman mythology. As words are the basis of language, one who is proficient in English must have a huge vocabulary as well as a good understanding of culture of that language. Therefore, it is very h

10、ard to grasptheunderlying meanings of the English words without an understanding of Greco-Roman mythology. This paper mainly explores theinfluence of Greco-Roman mythology on English vocabulary by elaborating the significance of Greco-Roman mythology and analyzingsome English words and idioms derive

11、d from Greco-Roman mythology to reach the systematic elaboration on it.Key words: Greek-Roman mythology,English vocabulary, impact;word文档 可自由复制编辑ContentsAcknowledgment 摘要 Abstract . Introduction 1 1.1. Significance of the Study1 1.2. Culture, Language and Vocabulary 2. Theoretical Analysis on Greco-

12、Roman Mythology and English Vocabulary3 2.1. A Brief Analysis on Greco-Roman Mythology 3 2.2. A Brief Analysis on Classification of English Vocabulary 3. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on English Vocabulary 5 3.1. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Morphemes 5 3.1.1. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Roots 5

13、3.1.2. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Affixes 6 3.2. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Borrowed Words 7 3.2.1. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Common Words 7 3.2.2. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Technical Terms 8 3.3. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Idioms 9 3.3.1. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Adjecti

14、ve Idioms 9 3.3.2. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Nominal Idioms 10 3.3.3. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Verbal Idioms 12 3.3.4. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Prepositional Idioms 13. Conclusion 14 Bibliography 15word文档 可自由复制编辑. IntroductionEnglish, as the world language, is of great importance in

15、 the communication of human beings by performing its daily significance. For English learners, especially English majors, to expand their vocabulary through learning culture backgrounds might be a proficient way to reach a higher level of English. 1.1. Significance of the Study With the popularizati

16、on of English learning, China has a large number of English learners. It is a great challenge for English majors to hunt jobs and stand out from the crowds. Thus English majors are supposed to be more demanding about their skills than others. As words are the basis of language, one who is proficient

17、 in English must have a huge vocabulary as well as a good understanding of culture of that language. Ancient Greco- Roman mythology, as one of the most important major sources of western culture, has made a great contribution to both culture and vocabulary in English. Therefore, the author intends t

18、o make a research on the relation of Greco-Roman myths and English vocabulary. The paper plans to describe the significance and present the impact of Greco-Roman myth on English words. There are many similar researches on this thesis both in China and some foreign countries, yet after consulting a n

19、umber of those papers about the subject on the line, the author finds that nearly all of them are fragmentary and not very systematic. These scholars just list a mass of words without describing the specific classification or content of the impact of Greco-Roman myth on vocabulary. In order to state

20、 the thesis efficiently in details, the paper focuses mainly on four parts, with an introduction as the start to demonstrate clearly significance of this study and respectively the definitions and relation of culture, language and vocabulary. Then the body, including part two and part three, theoret

21、ically analyzes and classifies specifically the impact of Greco-Roman myth on English vocabulary. And part four draws a conclusion clearly about the thesis of the whole paper.1.2. Culture, Language and Vocabulary According to the definition of Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, the term culture he

22、re refers to “the total pattern of beliefs, customs, institutions, and techniques that characterize the life of a human community”. However, language is an essential part of culture which plays an absolutely important role in it. Some social scientists even consider that culture would be impossible

23、without language. In turn, language is influenced and shaped by culture; it can also reflect culture(Deng & Liu, 2008:3). Thus, in the hoping of mastering a language proficiently, one is supposed to know very well about the culture background.Vocabulary, as the building block of a language, refers t

24、o the total number of all words in a language (Zhang, 2010:2). Besides, Liu Runqing, a professor of Linguistics in Beijing Foreign Studies University, pointed out that the three basic factors of language are sound, vocabulary and grammar; words are to language as bricks are to building. This indicat

25、es that vocabulary plays an important component of language. Meanwhile, it has been emphasized that “in the course of learning a language, without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed (Zhang, 2010:111).” Noting this significant improvement, the lexicologi

26、st McCarthy also signified that “no matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully he masters the sounds of a second Language, without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication in that language cannot happen in any meaningful way.” (Zhang, 2010:1)Since vocabula

27、ry is the fundamental part of language and language is the carrier of culture, in order to master a language,English learners are supposed to endeavor to know the impact of a culture on its vocabulary. Theoretical Analysis on Greco-Roman Mythology and Classification of English Vocabulary2.1. A Brief

28、 Analysis of Greco-Roman MythologyThe ancient Greek and Roman Mythology, dating back to the ancient society, has made significant contributions to humans language. In the beginning, the low level of productivity and lack of scientific knowledge caused peoples limitation of grasping the rules of natu

29、re. Greeks regarded mythology as a part of their history. They used myths and legends to explain everything of natural phenomena. They even considered it is the gods willing and power that had caused all these strange phenomenon in the nature. Thus many myths were created and transmitted from genera

30、tion to generation. Listed as the world cultural heritage, the Greek and Roman mythology greatly has an extensive influence on the development of European civilization. Many poets chose it as their writing material when composing poems. Furthermore, it left a sea of vivid expressions, especially som

31、e words and phrases in English. 2.2. A Brief Analysis on the Classification of English VocabularyEnglish vocabulary, which means all the words and phrases in English language, can be divided into several different categories by various criteria. English vocabulary involves words and phrases. To dig

32、deep enough, words, according to the word structure, can be analyzed into morphemes which are labeled root, stem, base and affix as minimal meaningful units (Zhang, 2004:50). After reading and consulting a number of books on this subject, the author finds that among these morphemes a lot of roots an

33、d affixes are derived from names of Gods (Goddesses) or other objects in the myths, which are to be analyzed and described in details. Besides, In terms of the origin, words can be classified into native words and loan words. As the oldest and most widely used language, English has borrowed from oth

34、er cultures nearly eighty percent of its entire vocabulary, of which a majority come from Latin, French, Scandinavian and some other languages and cultures, and of which plenty are originated from Greek and Greco-Roman myths (Zhang, 2010:12). However, the borrowed words, been classified by the level

35、 of usage by the author, can further be divided into common words and technical terms which are to be elaborated in the following parts. According to Wikipedia, a phrase is any group of words as a single unit. A phrase can only consist of one word, but in this paper it is discussed as being formed o

36、f more than one word. As is known to all, in English vocabulary, phrases are the links of words to sentences. However, among them a substantial phrases are allusive idioms derived from Greco-Roman myths. According to grammatical function, these allusive phrase idioms, which will be put into elaborat

37、ion, can be commonly divided into four types which are adjective idioms, nominal idioms, verbal idioms and prepositional idioms. . Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on English Vocabulary3.1. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Morphemes It is universally known that English has borrowed lots of words and idioms

38、 in its process of development. However, after making a deep research and analysis, the author also finds that there are plenty of roots and affixes derived from Greco-Roman mythology. They together constitutes plentiful words which are widely used in many fields. Parts of them were directly taken f

39、rom the names without any change while others were developed through deleting or changing several letters. 3.1.1. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on RootsIt has been proven that complex words typically consist of a root morpheme and one or more affixes. The root is the core of the word and carries the m

40、ajor component of its meaning (Dai & He, 2011:34). A great quantity of roots are transmitted from names of Greek and Roman mythology. Most of them belong to bound morphemes. To name some as examples:The Muses, consisting of nine goddesses, are the governors of the inspiration of literature, science

41、and arts. They were considered as the source of the knowledge, and written in poetics and other literary works for centuries since the ancient time. Not only are the Muses used in modern English to refer to an artistic inspiration, but they also are implied in words such as amuse, museum (a place wh

42、ere the Muses were worshiped) and music. In the ancient Greek time, Gamelia, closely associated with wedding or marriage, was said as the other name of Hera, the goddess of marriage, women and birth. Hera was known for her jealous and vengeful nature, most notably against Zeuss lovers and offspring.

43、 However, the other name Gamelia indicated her lucky and good aspect of image. For this reason, the variant form of the root “-gamy” or “-gam-” from Gamelia is connected with marriage. For instance, “bigamy”, “bigamist”, “bigamous”, “digamy”, “digamous”, “misogamy”, “exogamy”, “monogamy” , “monogami

44、st”, “monogamous”, “polygamy”,“polygamous”, “polygamist” and many other words(Deng, 2011:163).It is only when the learners have understood the fundamental meaning that the roots carry on that can they be capable of remembering more words more efficiently.3.1.2. Impact of Greco-Roman Myths on Affixes

45、 Affixes, commonly including prefixes and suffixes, are forms that are attached to words or word elements to modify meaning or function. The Greek and Roman mythology has created enormous derivational affixes, which makes great contributions to the vocabulary in English. Unlike suffixes which are ma

46、inly to change the grammatical function of the base, all prefixes primarily affect a semantic modification of the base of words, and almost many of them are derived from the Greek and Roman mythology. In order to demonstrate this, several examples are given below:The prefixes “chron-” and “chrono-”

47、indicating something about time in todays English language, both comes from the name Chronus, the god and embodiment of time, who was imagined as a god, serpentine in form, with three headsthose of a man, a bull, and a lion. However monstrous his image is, many words about time has been related on his name. Such as “chronic”, “chronicle”, “chronicler”, “chronology”,“chronologic”, “chronologize”, “diachronic”, “synchronic” , “synchronize”and many other words.The prefix “helio-” which is deriv