TO THE PROBLEM OF BASIC LEXIS OF CHINESE PEDAGOGICAL DISCOURSE DETERMINATION: ANALYTICAL REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC PUPLICATIONS

Abstract

The present paper aims to define the term «basic lexis» of Chinese pedagogical discourse. We identify pedagogical discourse as a systematic process of interaction between speakers within the pedagogical situation, where participants use extralinguistic, pragmalinguistic and linguistic sign systems. The basis of pedagogical discourse, as we understand, is the text. Pedagogical discourse as a unit of speech level under certain conditions unfolds around a static formation with a complete and established form – the text, as a unit of language level. The word most clearly manifests its functions as a lexical unit of language only in text. The word is the central functional and structural unit of the language system; all other language units are somehow connected with the word. A recent review of literature on the topic found that there is no clear definition of «basic lexis». Given that our definition of «basic lexis» is based on the results from such analyses. The authors' definition of «basic lexis» is proposed. The term is explained by the authors as the core vocabulary, a list of the most commonly used words necessary for learning languages on different levels. The recent researches on determining the list of word that is considered as «basic lexis» are presented and analyzed. It has been pointed out that frequency is considered to be the main criteria in the process of determining the list of basic lexis.