Words in the Mind: An Introduction to the Mental Lexicon, 2nd Edition

This volume about words, and the extraordinary human capacity to store and retrieve them. We hold effortlessly at least 50,000 of them in our minds, the majority of which can be summoned in a split second. No computer has yet come anywhere near simulating the complexities of the internal word-store. This book provides an up-to-date introduction to man's prodigious "mental lexicon". Using evidence from "slips of the tongue", the word-finding problems of aphasics, psycholinguistic experiments and the research of theoretical linguists, it describes: how man deals with this fluctuating mass of words; how people use fluid prototypes rather than fixed definitions for coping with meaning; how we extend old words and create new ones. The book compares the verbal resources of adults and children, and assesses recent competing theories as to how we seek out the lexical items we need. It is designed both for students embarking on psycholinguistics courses, and for anyone who has ever puzzled about the human word-store. Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations And Symbols -- 1. Welcome To Dictionopolis!: The Human Word-store -- 2. Links In The Chain: Assessing The Evidence -- 3. Programming Dumbella: Modelling The Mental Lexicon -- 4. Slippery Customers: Attempts To Pin Down The Meaning Of Words -- 5. Bad Birds And Better Birds: Prototype Theories -- 6. Whispering Chambers Of The Imagination: Mental Models -- 7. The Primordial Atomic Globule Hunt: The Search For Semantic Primitives -- 8. Word-webs: Semantic Networks -- 9. Lexical All-sorts: Parts Of Speech -- 10. Verb Power: The Role Of Verbs -- 11. Bits Of Words: The Internal Architecture Of Words -- 12. Taking Care Of The Sounds: Dealing With The Sound Patterns -- 13. Drifting Words: Layering And Meaning Change -- 14. Interpreting Ice-cream Cones: Extending Old Words -- 15. Globbering Mattresses: Creating New Words -- 16. What Is A Bongaloo, Daddy?: How Children Learn The Meaning Of Words -- 17. Aggergog Miggers, Wips And Gucks: How Children Cope With The Sound Structure Of Words -- 18. Seeking And Finding: Selecting Words -- 19. Organized Guesswork: Recognizing Words -- 20. Odd Arrangements And Funny Solutions: The Organization Of The Mental Lexicon -- 21. Last Word: Final Comments And Future Questions -- Notes -- References -- Index. Jean Aitchison. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. [208]-222. This book deals with words, and how humans learn them, remember them, understand them, and find the ones they want. In brief, it discusses the structure and content of the human word-store or 'mental lexicon', with particular reference to the spoken language of native English speakers. Since the first edition of this book was published, work on the lexicon has exploded. This is reflected in this new edition, which contains substantial additions. Two new chapters have been added, and others have been considerably expanded. No chapter remains unaltered, and over 300 new references have been added as notes and suggestions for further reading. The book remains accessible in style, easy to read for both undergraduates and non-specialists. This volume is about words, and the extraordinary human capacity to store and retrieve them. Using evidence from "slips of the tongue", the word-finding problems of aphasics, psycholinguistic experiments and the research of theoretical linguists, it describes how we deal with so many words.