Abstract:
This paper studies English vocabulary expansion brought about by cultural evolution in recent decades. Language and culture have close ties. The relationship and interaction between language and culture are very complicated. Culture is an integral part of language. Vocabulary is the basic element of language. Culture exerts great impact on word meanings. Lexical meanings change with the development of culture. The English vocabulary constantly renews itself by borrowing, coining, and combining words to meet the needs of new cultural and social developments. Cultural development results from social changes. Social changes—whether economic or political, progress in science and technology, youth culture, popular music and dance, environmental movement and so on all help to produce new words to express new ideas.

Key words: culture; cultural evolution; vocabulary expansion; social changes; lexical meaning

摘要：
本文研究近几十年中文化演变引起的英语词汇扩展。语言和文化关系密切，语言和文化的相互作用十分复杂。文化是语言固有的一部分；而词汇是语言的基本成分。文化对词义具有巨大影响，词义随着文化的发展而变化。英语词汇通过借词、造新词、复合新词等方式不断地更新，以满足新的文化和社会发展需要。文化发展是社会变化的产物。社会变化——无论是经济的还是政治的、科技进步、青年文化、流行音乐和舞蹈、环保运动等，都促进了新词的产生，以表达新的观念。

关键词：文化；文化演变；词汇扩展；社会变化；词义

1. Introduction
A language possesses three essential elements: the phonetic system, vocabulary and the grammatical structure, of which vocabulary is the base that supports the huge system of language. No one will deny that a very important part of learning a language is to master its vocabulary; in other words, the most obvious aspect of foreign language learning is the learning of new words for familiar matters, the acquisition of a parallel vocabulary. It is commonly accepted that language is a part of culture and plays a very important role in it. Some sociologists consider language as the keystone of culture. Without language, culture could hardly develop. On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture; it reflects culture. In a broad sense, language is the symbolic representation of a people, and it comprises their historical and cultural backgrounds as well as their ways of life and thinking.
Vocabulary is most sensitive to cultural influences and features, so it is an essential area for transmitting cultural knowledge. The meanings of new words and expressions tend to reflect the changes in various aspects of culture. This paper will study the expansion of English vocabulary brought about by the development of culture.