Scholars can classify the English lexicon in various ways, including technical parts of speech, abstract categories, and historical evolution. Other methods include syllables, literal or figurative language, and lexical databases. Understanding these classifications is useful for educators and linguists.
By looking at the entire English lexicon, or the range of words and phrases used in the English language, scholars can identify many different parts of this lexicon that play various roles in verbal communications. Different ways of classifying vocabulary are useful for academic, linguistic or planning projects. These parts would include the basic parts of speech as well as more abstract categories used by linguists. A basic understanding of parts of the English vocabulary is useful to educators and many others who need to explain to their students the ways in which the English language works.
One of the most basic arrangements of parts of the English lexicon involves the technical parts of speech. Some general parts of speech in English represent core parts of the general lexicon. These include nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs.
Along with the basic elements of the English language above, there are many other types that can be more abstract than grammatical designations such as nouns and verbs. One of them is the preposition, which is often used with a verb in a phrasal verb that English speakers rely heavily on. There is also the conjunction and another element called an interjection which covers a broad spectrum of exclamatory sentences, many of which are superfluous to formal English grammar.
Another way to designate parts of the English lexicon relates to how the English language has evolved. Linguists can compare elements of Old English, for example, with elements of the French language that have made their way into English. Looking at the Romance and Germanic parts of the English language, or other contrasts, is a very interesting part of defining how the lexicon is structured.
In addition to the above, there are several other ways to sort the lexicon of this language. Some linguists identify parts of the lexicon based on the number of syllables or the number of phonemes in a word or phrase. Others may structure English lexicon according to whether a sentence is literal or figurative, where technical and grammatically correct sentences contrast with elements of slang or idiomatic speech.
Modern technology has enabled a different way of looking at a linguistic lexicon: Linguists can now present and use what is called a lexical database. The lexical database will identify parts of the English lexicon in much more abstract ways. Users of a lexical database can select technical properties for a part of the general lexicon using checkboxes, buttons or other tools. The results that will come back from the lexical database will represent a very strictly defined set of words or phrases in the lexicon of the language.
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