similarities meaning of different noun vocabularies between British and American English whichfound in the Oxford dictionary.
B. Review of Related Theories 1. Vocabulary
Theory of vocabulary according to Richards 2002:255, vocabulary is the core component of language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how
well learners speak, listen, read, and write. Jackson and Amvela 2000:11 say that the terms of vocabulary, lexis, and lexicon are synonymous.
Another supporting definition comes from some experts. Nunan 1999:101 states that vocabulary is a list of target language words. Furthermore,
Richards and Schmidt 2002:580 states that vocabulary is a set of lexeme, including single words, compound words, and idioms. Vocabulary is the total
number of words in a language; all the words known to a person or used in a particular book, subject, etc; a list of words with their meaning, especially one that
accompanies a textbook Hornby, 1995:1331. Those definitions show that vocabulary is the first element that the English learners should learn in order to
master English well besides the other English components and skills.
2. Componential Analysis
According to semantics word meaning, Componential Analysis is an analysis of the semantic components of a word that views the meaning of a bundle
of semantic elements. Another theory comes from Jackson in “Words and their meaning” 1996:83 and Nida in “Componential Analysis of Meaning” 1975:32.
They categorize the types of components into two main types, i.e. common component and diagnostic or distinctive component.
a. Common component
This is the central component which is shared by all the lexemes in the same semantic domain or lexical field.
b. Diagnostic or distinctive components
They serve to distinguish the meaning from others from the same domain. A very simple example to explain these two types is provided by the words man,
woman, boy, girl, and other related words in English Leech, 1976:96. These words all belong to the semantic field of ‘human race’ and the relations between
them may be represented by the following matrix.
Tabel 1. Common and Diagnostic Components of the words man, woman, boy, and girl.
Components Man
Woman Boy
Girl [human]
+ +
+ +
[adult] +
+ -
- [male]
+ -
+ -
Semantics PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
In the semantic domain of man, woman, boy, and girl, [human] is the common component, and they are distinguished by [adult], [male], [female] as the
diagnostic components. The meanings of the individual items can then be expressed by combinations of these features:
Man + [human] + [adult] + [male] Woman + [human] + [adult] - [male]
Boy + [human] - [adult] + [male] Girl + [human] - [adult] - [male]
C. Review of Related Background
British English and American English represent two different varieties of the English language is a commonplace. It is also commonly assumed that most of
the differences can be found in the vocabulary. The main causes of the vocabulary differences between British and
American English are in part social-cultural, in part technological, and in part linguistic.
1. Social-cultural causes
There have been certain social and cultural developments since the early days of the emergence of what had become the United States. For example, the
educational systems in the two countries developed somewhat differently, leading to differences in such words as form and grade, and many others. Co-ed was
originally an American word a noun denoting a female student at a coeducational school that came to be used also in Britain, where it is used as an adjective only
