A Study Of The Treatment Of Noun-adjective Lexemes In Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary(8^th Edition)

Word class categorization has been a focal and difficult issue in linguistic study. Grammatical multi-functionality of analytic languages including modern English and modern Chinese is a dilemma of word class categorization, especially noun-adjective lexemes. However, previous studies have focused on multi-functionality through word-formation level and syntactic level, hardly have any studies been conducted from the lexical level in communal language system(namely, in dictionaries). Although Wang Renqiang(2014b), based on Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary(7th edition), conducts an empirical study on heterosemy in modern English, it still lacks systematic studies on strategies of English noun-adjective lexemes in modern English. Therefore, this thesis, on the basis of the Two-level Word Class Categorization Model in Analytic Languages, focusing on noun-adjective lexemes in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary(8th edition)(hereinafter shorted as OALD8), will probe into strategies of noun-adjective lexemes in OALD8 in order to provide implications for Chinese heterosemy studies.The results suggest that noun-adjective lexemes account for a relatively large number in modern English heterosemy, for there are 1260 noun-adjective lexemes in OALD8, which account for 28.11% of all two category lexemes. Besides, the results through the research on senses, definitions and exemplifications of noun-adjective lexemes in OALD8 suggest that OALD8 not only collects transferred-designation usages of noun-adjective lexemes, but also set them as independent senses. What's more, OALD8 deals with word class categorization from syntactic and lexical levels, so the treatment of conventional usages of noun-adjective lexemes is objective and accurate.This study presents specific situation of noun-adjective lexemes in OALD8 and furthers the research on heterosemy; besides, it provides implications for Chinese word class studies, which help to improve compilation of Chinese dictionaries and Chinese foreign language dictionaries.