INTRODUCTION 7
PART Ⅰ LANGUAGE AND MEANING 11
Chap.1 SIGNS AND SYMBOLS 11
2 SPEECH AND LANGUAGE 15
3 THE TWO FORMS OF LANGUAGE 18
4 THE WORD 23
5 MEANING 31
PART Ⅱ MEANING AND AMBIGUITY 35
Chap.1 SIMPLE MEANING 35
2 MULTIPLE MEANING 46
PART Ⅲ THE VOCABULARY IN MOTION 57
Chap.1 CREATIVE RESOURCES 57
2 WHY WORDS CHANGE THEIR MEANINGS 65
3 HOW WORDS CHANGE THEIR MEANINGS 70
4 THE DISAPPEARANCE OF WORDS 83
PART Ⅳ WORDS AND THINGS 87
Chap.1 THE INFLUENCE OF WORDS 87
2 THE SHORTCOMINGS OF WORDS 95
LIST OF BOOKS RECOMMENDED 109