Lexicon
{{dablink|Lexicon is also a synonym for
dictionary or
encyclopedic dictionary. For other uses, see
lexicon (disambiguation).}}{{merge|Vocabulary|date=April 2008}}{{wiktionarypar|lexicon}}In
linguistics, the
lexicon (from Greek Λεξικόν) of a language is its
vocabulary, including its words and expressions. More formally, it is a language's inventory of
lexemes.The lexicon includes the lexemes used to actualize words. Lexemes are formed according to
morpho-syntactic rules and express
sememes. In this sense, a lexicon organizes the
mental vocabulary in a speaker's mind: First, it organizes the vocabulary of a language according to certain principles (for instance, all verbs of motion may be linked in a lexical network) and second, it contains a generative device producing (new) simple and complex words according to certain lexical rules. For example, the
suffix '-able' can be added to
transitive verbs only, so that we get 'read-able' but not 'cry-able'.Usually a lexicon is a container for words belonging to the same language. Some exceptions may be encountered for languages that are variants, like for instance Brazilian compared to Portuguese, where a lot of words are common and where the differences may be marked word by word.When linguists study the lexicon, they study such things as what words are, how the vocabulary in a language is structured, how people use and store words, how they learn words, the history and evolution of words (i.e.
etymology), types of relationships between words as well as how words were created.An individual's lexicon, lexical knowledge, or lexical concept is that person's knowledge of
vocabulary.
See also
Further reading
- Aitchison, Jean. Words in the Mind: An Introduction to the Mental Lexicon. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2003.
WortschatzLexicónLexiqueLeksikonלקסיקוןLeksikonasWoordenschatOrdforrådLéxicoЛексика
(...as imported from WP)
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