How to Memorize English Words

吳曉麗

【Abstract】Language is a complicated system， which mainly contains phonology， vocabulary， grammar. The vocabulary is just like stocks used to build the house of a language. Lexicon is fundamental material in language learning. The author attempts to explore English word formation form morphemes. The morpheme， can be considered as “the smallest functioning unit in the composition of words”. Morphemes are classified into prefix， root and suffix. In order to have a good command of words， English learners could adopt the rules of word formation from morphemes to enlarge vocabulary efficiently.

【Key words】vocabulary learning； morphemes； prefix and suffix； root

1. Root

A root is the base form of a word that expresses its essential meaning， a meaning that never change， even though affixes may be added at the beginning of a word. We usually say that the root is the foundation of each word. With the development of human society， the meaning of roots relates to four experiences-body experience， nature experience， mental experience， and social experience which embodies humans experience and understanding for the world. However， in different areas， various words are produced and given diverse meanings. We can see the four experiences in one root. For example， the root “ject” means “to throw” on the basis of peoples life experiences. In body experience， “ject” has different meaning according to the direction. The word “inject” means “put a medicine into someone body using a device with a needle called a syringe”. In nature experience， “ject” means “the route of throwing”， and the word “trajectory” means “the path followed by an object moving through space” which is produced owing to nature experience. In mental experience， “ject” means “abandon”， and the word “dejection” has the meaning of “a feeling of sadness”. In social experience， many words are derived， such as “projector”， “subjection”， “objection”. The word “projector” means “an optical device for projecting a beam of light”.

2. Prefix

Its not enough for us to know the meaning of root if we want to analyse the word formation of new words. We should know the meaning of prefix and suffix. So lets see the prefix first. A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word which has different meaning. For example， “anti-” means “against， the opposite”， the word “antimatter” meaning consists of the meaning of “anti-” and the meaning of “matter”. So the word “antimatter” means “substance consisting of elementary particles that are the antiparticles of those making up normal substance”. Another instance， the word “decamp” which is unfamiliar to us can be analysed by the way what we learned. The prefix “de-” means “down， away， off， against”， and the word “camp” means “a collection of huts that is provided for people”. In social experience， the word “decamp” has the meaning of “go away from somewhere secretly or suddenly”.

3. Suffix

Its time to talk about the last part of morphemes that are suffixes. A suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings， which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives， and verb ending， which form the conjugation of verbs. For instance， “-a” means “disease”， and lets see the word “dementia”. According to what we have learned above， the word can be divided into three parts. The root is “ment” which means “mind， thought”. The prefix “de-” means “against”， while the suffix “-a” means “disease”. So we can guess that the word has the meaning of a man who doesnt have the ability to think， that is to say， “idiocy”. Lets see another suffix “-ant， -ent” which means “somebody or something that has some properties”. The formation of the word “reluctant”： “re” means “against”， the root “luct” means “to struggle”， and add to the suffix which changes the word-class. The word “reluctant” means “unwillingness to do something contrary to your custom”.

4. Rhetoric

In most cases， if we want to learn more words， embodiment， metaphor and metonymy can help us remember words. The word “depression” means “surface lower than other”， “an air mass of lower pressure” in natural environment and “a feeling of sadness” in mental experience and “a long term economic state characterized by unemployment and lower prices” in social area with metaphor and metonymy.

Conclusion： Although remembering words has some rules to follow， we have to use our own judgment to decided on each specific matter because each word has its own characteristics. I can sure that its easy for you to memorize words after you have mastered the English word formation from morphemes on the premise of hardworking.

References：

[1]Barnhart，C.L.&R.K.Barnhart.The World Book Dictionary[Z]， 1983.

[2]Klein，W.Second Language Acquisition.Cambridge University Press，1986.