p> Holland borrowings. Holland and England have constant interrelations for many centuries and
more than 2000 Holland borrowings were borrowed into English. Most of them
are nautical terms and were mainly borrowed in the 14-th century, such as:
freight, skipper, pump, keel, dock, reef, deck, leak and many others.
Besides two main groups of borrowings (Romanic and Germanic) there are
also borrowings from a lot of other languages. We shall speak about Russian
borrowings, borrowings from the language which belongs to Slavoninc
languages.
Russian borrowings. There were constant contacts between England and Russia and they borrowed
words from one language into the other. Among early Russian borrowings
there are mainly words connected with trade relations, such as: rouble,
copeck, pood, sterlet, vodka, sable, and also words relating to nature,
such as: taiga, tundra, steppe etc. There is also a large group of Russian borrowings which came into English
through Rushian literature of the 19-th century, such as : Narodnik,
moujik, duma, zemstvo. volost, ukase etc, and also words which were formed
in Russian with Latin roots, such as: nihilist, intelligenzia, Decembrist
etc. After the Great October Revolution many new words appeared in Russian
connected with the new political system, new culture, and many of them were
borrowed into English, such as: collectivization. udarnik, Komsomol etc
and also translation loans, such as: shock worker, collective farm, five-
year plan etc. One more group of Russian borrowings is connected with perestroika, such
as: glasnost, nomenklatura, apparatchik etc.
ETYMOLOGICAL DOUBLETS
Sometimes a word is borrowed twice from the same language. As the
result, we have two different words with different spellings and meanings
but historically they come back to one and the same word. Such words are
called etymological doublets. In English there are some groups of them:
Latino-French doublets. Latin English from Latin English from French uncia inch
ounce moneta mint
money camera camera
chamber
Franco-French doublets doublets borrowed from different dialects of French.
Norman Paris canal channel captain chieftain catch chaise
Scandinavian-English doublets
Scandinavian English skirt shirt scabby shabby There are also etymological doublets which were borrowed from the same
language during different historical periods, such as French doublets:
gentil - ëþáåçíûé, áëàãîðîäíûé, etymological doublets are: gentle - ìÿãêèé,
âåæëèâûé and genteel - áëàãîðîäíûé. From the French word gallant
etymological doublets are : ‘gallant - õðàáðûé and ga’llant - ãàëàíòíûé,
âíèìàòåëüíûé. Sometimes etymological doublets are the result of borrowing different
grammatical forms of the same word, e.g. the Comparative degree of Latin
«super» was «superior» which was borrowed into English with the meaning
«high in some quality or rank». The Superlative degree (Latin
«supremus»)in English «supreme» with the meaning «outstanding»,
«prominent». So «superior» and «supreme» are etymological doublets.
SEMASIOLOGY
The branch of lexicology which deals with the meaning is called
semasiology.
WORD - MEANING Every word has two aspects: the outer aspect (its sound form) and the
inner aspect (its meaning) . Sound and meaning do not always constitute a
constant unit even in the same language. E.g. the word «temple» may denote
«a part of a human head» and «a large church» In such cases we have
homonyms. One and the same word in different syntactical relations can
develop different meanings, e.g. the verb «treat» in sentences: a) He treated my words as a joke. b) The book treats of poetry. c) They treated me to sweets. d) He treats his son cruelly. In all these sentences the verb «treat» has different meanings and we can
speak about polysemy. On the other hand, one and the same meaning can be expressed by different
sound forms, e.g. «pilot» , and «airman», «horror» and «terror». In such
cases we have synonyms. Both the meaning and the sound can develop in the course of time
independently. E.g. the Old English /luvian/ is pronounced /l^v / in Modern
English. On the other hand, «board» primariliy means « a piece of wood sawn
thin» It has developed the meanings: a table, a board of a ship, a stage, a
council etc.
LEXICAL MEANING - NOTION
The lexical meaning of a word is the realization of a notion by means of
a definite language system. A word is a language unit, while a notion is a
unit of thinking. A notion cannot exict without a word expressing it in the
language, but there are words which do not express any notion but have a
lexical meaning. Interjections express emotions but not notions, but they
have lexical meanings, e.g. Alas! /disappointment/, Oh,my buttons!
/surprise/ etc. There are also words which express both, notions and
emotions, e.g. girlie, a pig /when used metaphorically/. The term «notion» was introduced into lexicology from logics. A notion
denotes the reflection in the mind of real objects and phenomena in their
relations. Notions, as a rule, are international, especially with the
nations of the same cultural level. While meanings can be nationally
limited. Grouping of meanings in the semantic structure of a word is
determined by the whole system of every language. E.g. the English verb
«go» and its Russian equivalent «èäòè» have some meanings which coincide:
to move from place to place, to extend /the road goes to London/, to work
/Is your watch going?/. On the other hand, they have different meanings: in
Russian we say :»Âîò îí èäåò» , in English we use the verb «come» in this
case. In English we use the verb «go» in the combinations: «to go by bus»,
«to go by train» etc. In Russian in these cases we use the verb «åõàòü». The number of meanings does not correspond to the number of words,
neither does the number of notions. Their distribution in relation to words
is peculiar in every language. The Russian has two words for the English
«man»: « ìóæ÷èíà» and «÷åëîâåê». In English, however, «man» cannot be
applied to a female person. We say in Russian: «Îíà õîðîøèé ÷åëîâåê». In
English we use the word «person»/ She is a good person»/ Development of lexical meanings in any language is influenced by the
whole network of ties and relations between words and other aspects of the
language.
POLYSEMY
The word «polysemy» means «plurality of meanings» it exists only in the
language, not in speech. A word which has more than one meaning is called
polysemantic. Different meanings of a polysemantic word may come together due to the
proximity of notions which they express. E.g. the word «blanket» has the
following meanings: a woolen covering used on beds, a covering for keeping
a horse warm, a covering of any kind /a blanket of snow/, covering all or
most cases /used attributively/, e.g. we can say «a blanket insurance
policy». There are some words in the language which are monosemantic, such as most
terms, /synonym, molecule, bronchites/, some pronouns /this, my, both/,
numerals. There are two processes of the semantic development of a word: radiation
and concatination. In cases of radiation the primary meaning stands in the
centre and the secondary meanings proceed out of it like rays. Each
secondary meaning can be traced to the primmary meaning. E.g. in the word
«face» the primary meaning denotes «the front part of the human head»
Connected with the front position the meanings: the front part of a watch,
the front part of a building, the front part of a playing card were formed.
Connected with the word «face» itself the meanings : expression of the
face, outward appearance are formed. In cases of concatination secondary meanings of a word develop like a
chain. In such cases it is difficult to trace some meanings to the primary
one. E.g. in the word «crust» the primary meaning «hard outer part of
bread» developed a secondary meaning «hard part of anything /a pie, a
cake/», then the meaning »harder layer over soft snow» was developed, then
«a sullen gloomy person», then «impudence» were developed. Here the last
meanings have nothing to do with the primary ones. In such cases homonyms
appear in the language. It is called the split of polysemy. In most cases in the semantic development of a word both ways of semantic
development are combined.
HOMONYMS
Homonyms are words different in meaning but identical in sound or
spelling, or both in sound and spelling. Homonyms can appear in the language not only as the result of the split
of polysemy, but also as the result of levelling of grammar inflexions,
when different parts of speech become identical in their outer aspect, e.g.
«care» from «caru» and «care» from «carian». They can be also formed by
means of conversion, e.g. «to slim» from «slim», «to water» from «water».
They can be formed with the help of the same suffix from the same stem,
e.g. «reader»/ a person who reads and a book for reading/. Homonyms can also appear in the language accidentally, when two words
coincide in their development, e.g. two native words can coincide in their
outer aspects: «to bear» from «beran»/to carry/ and «bear» from «bera»/an
animal/. A native word and a borrowing can coincide in their outer aspects,
e.g. «fair» from Latin «feria» and «fair « from native «fager» /blond/. Two
borrowings can coincide e.g. «base» from the French «base» /Latin basis/
and «base» /low/ from the Latin «bas» /Italian «basso»/. Homonyms can develop through shortening of different words, e.g. «cab»
from «cabriolet», «cabbage», «cabin».
Classifications of homonyms. Walter Skeat classified homonyms according to their spelling and sound
forms and he pointed out three groups: perfect homonyms that is words
identical in sound and spelling, such as : «school» - «êîñÿê ðûáû» and
«øêîëà» ; homographs, that is words with the same spelling but pronounced
differently, e.g. «bow» -/bau/ - «ïîêëîí» and /bou/ - «ëóê»; homophones
that is words pronounced identically but spelled differently, e.g. «night»
- «íî÷ü» and «knight» - «ðûöàðü». Another classification was suggested by A.I Smirnitsky. He added to
Skeat’s classification one more criterion: grammatical meaning. He
subdivided the group of perfect homonyms in Skeat’s classification into two
types of homonyms: perfect which are identical in their spelling,
pronunciation and their grammar form, such as :»spring» in the meanings:
the season of the year, a leap, a source, and homoforms which coincide in
their spelling and pronunciation but have different grammatical meaning,
e.g. «reading» - Present Participle, Gerund, Verbal noun., to lobby - lobby
. A more detailed classification was given by I.V. Arnold. She classified
only perfect homonyms and suggested four criteria of their classification:
lexical meaning, grammatical meaning, basic forms and paradigms. According to these criteria I.V. Arnold pointed out the following groups:
a) homonyms identical in their grammatical meanings, basic forms and
paradigms and different in their lexical meanings, e.g. «board» in the
meanings «a council» and « a piece of wood sawn thin»; b) homonyms
identical in their grammatical meanings and basic forms, different in their
lexical meanings and paradigms, e.g. to lie - lied - lied, and to lie -
lay - lain; c) homonyms different in their lexical meanings, grammatical
meanings, paradigms, but coinciding in their basic forms, e.g. «light» /
«lights»/, «light» / «lighter», «lightest»/; d) homonyms different in their
lexical meanings, grammatical meanings, in their basic forms and paradigms,
but coinciding in one of the forms of their paradigms, e.g. «a bit» and
«bit» (from « to bite»). In I. V. Arnold’s classification there are also patterned homonyms,
which, differing from other homonyms, have a common component in their
lexical meanings. These are homonyms formed either by means of conversion,
or by levelling of grammar inflexions. These homonyms are different in
their grammar meanings, in their paradigms, identical in their basic forms,
e.g. «warm» - «to warm». Here we can also have unchangeable patterned
homonyms which have identical basic forms, different grammatical meanings,
a common component in their lexical meanings, e.g. «before» an adverb, a
conjunction, a preposition. There are also homonyms among unchangeable
words which are different in their lexical and grammatical meanings,
identical in their basic foms, e.g. « for» - «äëÿ» and «for» - «èáî».
SYNONYMS
Synonyms are words different in their outer aspects, but identical or
similar in their inner aspects. In English there are a lot of synonyms,
because there are many borrowings, e.g. hearty / native/ - cordial/
borrowing/. After a word is borrowed it undergoes desynonymization, because
absolute synonyms are unnecessary for a language. However, there are some
absolute synonyms in the language, which have exactly the same meaning and
belong to the same style, e.g. to moan, to groan; homeland, motherland etc. In cases of desynonymization one of the absolute synonyms can
specialize in its meaning and we get semantic synonyms, e.g. «city»
/borrowed/, «town» /native/. The French borrowing «city» is specialized. In
other cases native words can be specialized in their meanings, e.g. «stool»
/native/, «chair» /French/. Sometimes one of the absolute synonyms is specialized in its usage and we
get stylistic synonyms, e.g. «to begin»/ native/, «to commence»
/borrowing/. Here the French word is specialized. In some cases the native
word is specialized, e.g. «welkin» /bookish/, «sky» /neutral/. Stylistic synonyms can also appear by means of abbreviation. In most
cases the abbreviated form belongs to the colloquial style, and the full
form to the neutral style, e.g. «examination’, «exam». Among stylistic synonyms we can point out a special group of words which
are called euphemisms. These are words used to substitute some unpleasant
or offensive words, e.g «the late» instead of «dead», «to perspire» instead
of «to sweat» etc. There are also phraseological synonyms, these words are identical in
their meanings and styles but different in their combining with other words
in the sentence, e.g. «to be late for a lecture» but «to miss the train»,
«to visit museums» but «to attend lectures» etc. In each group of synonyms there is a word with the most general meaning,
which can substitute any word in the group, e.g. «piece» is the synonymic
dominant in the group «slice», «lump», «morsel». The verb « to look at» is
the synonymic dominant in the group «to stare», «to glance», «to peep». The
adjective «red’ is the synonymic dominant in the group «purple», «scarlet»,
«crimson». When speaking about the sources of synonyms, besides desynonymization and
abbreviation, we can also mention the formation of phrasal verbs, e.g. «to
give up» - «to abandon», «to cut down» - «to diminish».
ANTONYMS
Antonyms are words belonging to the same part of speech, identical in
style, expressing contrary or contradictory notions. V.N. Comissarov in his dictionary of antonyms classified them into two
groups : absolute or root antonyms /»late» - «early»/ and derivational
antonyms / «to please’ - «to displease»/ . Absolute antonyms have
different roots and derivational antonyms have the same roots but
different affixes. In most cases negative prefixes form antonyms / un-, dis-
, non-/. Sometimes they are formed by means of suffixes -ful and -less. The number of antonyms with the suffixes ful- and -less is not very
large, and sometimes even if we have a word with one of these suffixes its
antonym is formed not by substituting -ful by less-, e.g. «successful»
-»unsuccessful», «selfless» - «selfish». The same is true about antonyms
with negative prefixes, e.g. «to man» is not an antonym of the word «to
unman», «to disappoint» is not an antonym of the word «to appoint». The difference between derivational and root antonyms is not only in
their structure, but in semantics as well. Derivational antonyms express
contradictory notions, one of them excludes the other, e.g. «active»-
«inactive». Absolute antonyms express contrary notions. If some notions
can be arranged in a group of more than two members, the most distant
members of the group will be absolute antonyms, e.g. «ugly» , «plain»,
«good-looking», «pretty», «beautiful», the antonyms are «ugly» and
«beautiful». Leonard Lipka in the book «Outline of English Lexicology» describes
different types of oppositeness, and subdivides them into three types: a) complementary, e.g. male -female, married -single, b) antonyms, e.g. good -bad, c) converseness, e.g. to buy - to sell. In his classification he describes complimentarity in the following way:
the denial of the one implies the assertion of the other, and vice versa.
«John is not married» implies that «John is single». The type of
oppositeness is based on yes/no decision. Incompatibility only concerns
pairs of lexical units. Antonymy is the second class of oppositeness. It is distinguished from
complimentarity by being based on different logical relationships. For
pairs of antonyms like good/bad, big/small only the second one of the above
mentioned relations of implication holds. The assertion containing one
member implies the negation of the other, but not vice versa. «John is
good» implies that «John is not bad», but «John is not good» does not imply
that «John is bad». The negation of one term does not necessarily implies
the assertion of the other. An important linguistic difference from complementaries is that antonyms
are always fully gradable, e.g. hot, warm, tepid, cold. Converseness is mirror-image relations or functions, e.g. husband/wife,
pupil/teacher, preceed/follow, above/below, before/after etc. «John bought the car from Bill» implies that «Bill sold the car to John».
Mirror-image sentences are in many ways similar to the relations between
active and passive sentences. Also in the comparative form: »Y is smaller
than X, then X is larger than Y». L. Lipka also gives the type which he calls directional opposition
up/down, consiquence opposition learn/know, antipodal opposition
North/South, East/West, ( it is based on contrary motion, in opposite
directions.) The pairs come/go, arrive/depart involve motion in different
directions. In the case up/down we have movement from a point P. In the
case come/go we have movement from or to the speaker. L. Lipka also points out non-binary contrast or many-member lexical sets.
Here he points out serially ordered sets, such as scales / hot, warm,
tepid, cool, cold/ ; colour words / black, grey, white/ ; ranks /marshal,
general, colonel, major, captain etc./ There are gradable examination
marks / excellent, good, average, fair, poor/. In such sets of words we
can have outer and inner pairs of antonyms. He also points out cycles, such
as units of time /spring, summer, autumn, winter/ . In this case there are
no «outermost» members. Not every word in a language can have antonyms. This type of opposition
can be met in qualitative adjectives and their derivatives, e.g. beautiful-
ugly, to beautify - to uglify, beauty - ugliness. It can be also met in
words denoting feelings and states, e.g. respect - scorn, to respect - to
scorn, respectful - scornful, to live - to die, alive - dead, life - death. It can be also met among words denoting direction in space and time, e.g.
here - there, up - down , now - never, before - after, day - night, early -
late etc. If a word is polysemantic it can have several antonyms, e.g. the word
«bright» has the antonyms «dim», «dull», «sad».
LOCAL VARIETIES OF ENGLISH ON THE BRITISH ISLES
On the British Isles there are some local varieties of English which
developed from Old English local dialects. There are six groups of them:
Lowland /Scottish/ , Northern, Western, Midland, Eastern, Southern. These
varieties are used in oral speech by the local population. Only the
Scottish dialect has its own literature /R. Berns/. One of the best known dialects of British English is the dialect of
London - Cockney. Some peculiarities of this dialect can be seen in the
first act of «Pigmalion» by B. Shaw, such as : interchange of /v/ and /w/
e.g. wery vell; interchange of /f/ and /0/ , /v/ and / /, e. g/ fing
/thing/ and fa:ve / father/; interchange of /h/ and /-/ , e.g. «’eart» for
«heart» and «hart» for «art; substituting the diphthong /ai/ by /ei/ e.g.
«day» is pronounced /dai/; substituting /au/ by /a:/ , e.g. «house» is
pronounced /ha:s/,«now« /na:/ ; substituting /ou/ by /o:/ e.g. «don’t» is
pronounced /do:nt/ or substituting it by / / in unstressed positions, e.g.
«window» is pronounced /wind /. Another feature of Cockney is rhyming slang: «hat» is «tit for tat»,
«wife» is «trouble and strife», «head» is «loaf of bread» etc. There are
also such words as «tanner» /sixpence/, «peckish»/hungry/. Peter Wain in the «Education Guardian» writes about accents spoken by
University teachers: «It is a variety of Southern English RP which is
different from Daniel Jones’s description. The English, public school
leavers speak, is called «marked RP», it has some characteristic features :
the vowels are more central than in English taught abroad, e.g. «bleck
het»/for «black hat»/, some diphthongs are also different, e.g. «house» is
pronounced /hais/. There is less aspiration in /p/, /b/, /t/ /d/. The American English is practically uniform all over the country, because
of the constant transfer of people from one part of the country to the
other. However, some peculiarities in New York dialect can be pointed out,
such as: there is no distinction between / / and /a: / in words: «ask»,
«dance» «sand» «bad», both phonemes are possible. The combination «ir» in
the words: «bird», «girl» «ear» in the word «learn» is pronoinced as /oi/
e.g. /boid/, /goil/, /loin/.In the words «duty’, «tune» /j/ is not
pronounced /du:ti/, /tu:n/.
BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH
British and American English are two main variants of English. Besides
them there are : Canadian, Australian, Indian, New Zealand and other
variants. They have some peculiarities in pronunciation, grammar and
vocabulary, but they are easily used for communication between people
living in these countries. As far as the American English is concerned,
some scientists /H.N. Menken, for example/ tried to prove that there is a
separate American language. In 1919 H.N. Menken published a book called
«The American Language». But most scientists, American ones including,
criticized his point of view because differences between the two variants
are not systematic. American English begins its history at the beginning of the 17-th century
when first English-speaking settlers began to settle on the Atlantic coast
of the American continent. The language which they brought from England
was the language spoken in England during the reign of Elizabeth the First. In the earliest period the task of Englishmen was to find names for
places, animals, plants, customs which they came across on the American
continent. They took some of names from languages spoken by the local
population - Indians, such as :»chipmuck»/an American squirrel/, «igloo»
/Escimo dome-shaped hut/, «skunk» / a black and white striped animal with a
bushy tail/, «squaw» / an Indian woman/, »wigwam» /an American Indian tent
made of skins and bark/ etc. Besides Englishmen, settlers from other countries came to America, and
English-speaking settlers mixed with them and borrowed some words from
their languages, e.g. from French the words «bureau»/a writing desk/,
«cache» /a hiding place for treasure, provision/, «depot’/ a store-house/,
«pumpkin»/a plant bearing large edible fruit/. From Spanish such words as:
»adobe» / unburnt sun-dried brick/, »bananza» /prosperity/, «cockroach» /a
beetle-like insect/, «lasso» / a noosed rope for catching cattle/ were
borrowed.
Present-day New York stems from the Dutch colony New Amsterdam, and
Dutch also influenced English. Such words as: «boss», «dope», «sleigh»
were borrowed . The second period of American English history begins in the 19-th
century. Immigrants continued to come from Europe to America. When large
groups of immigrants from the same country came to America some of their
words were borrowed into English. Italians brought with them a style of
cooking which became widely spread and such words as: «pizza», «spaghetti»
came into English. From the great number of German-speaking settlers the
following words were borrowed into English: «delicatessen», «lager»,
«hamburger», «noodle», «schnitzel» and many others. During the second period of American English history there appeared quite
a number of words and word-groups which were formed in the language due to
the new poitical system, liberation of America from the British
colonialism, its independence. The following lexical units appeared due to
these events: the United States of America , assembly, caucus, congress,
Senate, congressman, President, senator, precinct, Vice-President and many
others. Besides these political terms many other words were coined in
American English in the 19-th century: to antagonize, to demoralize,
influential, department store, telegram, telephone and many others. There are some differences between British and American English in the
usage of prepositions, such as prepositions with dates, days of the week BE
requres «on» / I start my holiday on Friday/, in American English there is
no preposition / I start my vacation Friday/. In Be we use «by day», «by
night»/»at night», in AE the corresponding forms are «days» and «nights».
In BE we say «at home» , in AE - «home» is used. In BE we say «a quarter to
five», in AE «a quarter of five». In BE we say «in the street», in AE -
«on the street». In BE we say «to chat to somebody», in AE «to chat with
somebody». In BE we say «different to something», in AE - «different from
someting». There are also units of vocabulary which are different while denoting the
same notions, e.g. BE - «trousers», AE -«pants»; in BE «pants» are «òðóñû»
which in AE is «shorts». While in BE «shorts» are outwear. This can lead to
misunderstanding. There are some differences in names of places:
BE AE BE AE
passage hall cross-roads intersection pillar box mail-box the cinema the movies studio, bed-sitter one-room appartment
tram streetcar flat apartment surgery doctor’s office lift elevator
Some names of useful objects: BE AE BE AE biro ballpoint rubber eraser tap faucet torch
flashlight parcel package elastic rubber
band carrier bag shopping bag reel of cotton spool of thread
Some words connected with food: BE AE BE
AE tin can sweets candy sweet biscuit cookie dry biscuit
crackers sweet dessert chips
french fries minced meat ground beef
AE barrister, lawyer, staff /university/
faculty post-graduate graduate chap, fellow guy caretaker janitor constable
patrolman shopassistant shopperson bobby cop
If we speak about cars there are also some differences:
BE AE BE
AE boot trunk bumpers
fenders a car, an auto, to hire a car to rent a
car
Differences in the organization of education lead to different terms. BE
«public school» is in fact a private school. It is a fee-paying school not
controlled by the local education authorities. AE «public school» is a
free local authority school. BE «elementary school» is AE «grade school» BE
«secondary school» is AE «high school». In BE « a pupil leaves a secondary
school», in AE «a student graduates from a high school» In BE you can
graduate from a university or college of education, graduating entails
getting a degree.
A British university student takes three years known as the first, the
second and the third years. An American student takes four years, known as
freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years. While studying a British
student takes a main and subsidiary subjects. An American student majors in
a subject and also takes electives. A British student specializes in one
main subject, with one subsidiary to get his honours degree. An American
student earns credits for successfully completing a number of courses in
studies, and has to reach the total of 36 credits to receive a degree.
Differences of spelling. The reform in the English spelling for American English was introduced
by the famous American lexicographer Noah Webster who published his first
dictionary in 1806. Those of his proposals which were adopted in the
English spelling are as follows: a) the delition of the letter «u» in words ending in «our», e.g. honor,
favor; b) the delition of the second consonant in words with double consonants,
e.g. traveler, wagon, c) the replacement of «re» by «er» in words of French origin, e.g.
theater, center, d) the delition of unpronounced endings in words of Romanic origin, e.g. catalog, program, e) the replacement of «ce» by «se» in words of Romanic origin, e.g.
defense, offense, d) delition of unpronounced endings in native words, e.g. tho, thro.
Differences in pronunciation In American English we have r-coloured fully articulated vowels, in the
combinations: ar, er, ir, or, ur, our etc. In BE the sound / /
corresponds to the AE /^/, e.g. «not». In BE before fricatives and
combinations with fricatives «a» is pronounced as /a:/, in AE it is
pronounced / / e.g. class, dance, answer, fast etc. There are some differences in the position of the stress:
BE AE BE
AE add`ress adress la`boratory
`laboratory re`cess `recess re`search
`research in`quiry `inquiry ex`cess
`excess Some words in BE and AE have different pronunciation, e.g.
BE AE BE
AE /`fju:tail/ /`fju:t l/ /`dousail /
/dos l/ /kla:k/ /kl rk/ /`fig /
/figyer/ / `le3 / / li:3 r/ /lef`ten nt/
/lu:tenant/ / nai / /ni: r/ /shedju:l/
/skedyu:l/ But these differences in pronunciation do not prevent Englishmen and
American from communicating with each other easily and cannot serve as a
proof that British and American are different languages.
Words can be classified according to the period of their life in the
language. The number of new words in a language is always larger than the
number of words which come out of active usage. Accordingly we can have
archaisms, that is words which have come out of active usage, and
neologisms, that is words which have recently appeared in the language.
ARCHAISMS Archaisms are words which are no longer used in everyday speech, which
have been ousted by their synonyms. Archaisms remain in the language, but
they are used as stylistic devices to express solemnity. Most of these words are lexical archaisms and they are stylistic synonyms
of words which ousted them from the neutral style. Some of them are: steed
/horse/, slay /kill/, behold /see/, perchance /perhaps/, woe /sorrow/ etc.
Sometimes a lexical archaism begins a new life, getting a new meaning,
then the old meaning becomes a semantic archaism, e.g. «fair» in the
meaning «beautiful» is a semantic archaism, but in the meaning «blond» it
belongs to the neutral style.
Sometimes the root of the word remains and the affix is changed, then
the old affix is considered to be a morphemic archaism, e.g. «beautious»
/»ous» was substituted by «ful»/, «bepaint» / «be» was dropped/, «darksome»
/»some» was dropped/, «oft» / «en» was added/. etc.
NEOLOGISMS
At the present moment English is developing very swiftly and there is so
called «neology blowup». R. Berchfield who worked at compiling a four-
volume supplement to NED says that averagely 800 neologisms appear every
year in Modern English. It has also become a language-giver recently,
especially with the development of computerization. New words, as a rule, appear in speech of an individual person who wants
to express his idea in some original way. This person is called
«originater». New lexical units are primarily used by university teachers,
newspaper reporters, by those who are connected with mass media. Neologisms can develop in three main ways: a lexical unit existing in the
language can change its meaning to denote a new object or phenomenon. In
such cases we have semantic neologisms, e.g. the word «umbrella» developed
the meanings: «àâèàöèîííîå ïðèêðûòèå», »ïîëèòè÷åñêîå ïðèêðûòèå». A new
lexical unit can develop in the language to denote an object or phenomenon
which already has some lexical unit to denote it. In such cases we have
transnomination, e.g. the word «slum» was first substituted by the word
«ghetto» then by the word-group «inner town». A new lexical unit can be
introduced to denote a new object or phenomenon. In this case we have «a
proper neologism», many of them are cases of new terminology. Here we can point out several semantic groups when we analize the group
of neologisms connected with computerization, and here we can mention words
used: a) to denote different types of computers, e.g. PC, super-computer, multi-
user, neurocomputer / analogue of a human brain/; b) to denote parts of computers, e.g. hardware, software, monitor,
screen, data, vapourware / experimental samples of computers for
exhibition, not for production/; c) to denote computer languages, e.g. BASIC, Algol FORTRAN etc; d) to denote notions connected with work on computers, e.g. computerman,
computerization, computerize, to troubleshoot, to blitz out / to ruin
data in a computer’s memory/. There are also different types of activities performed with the help of
computers, many of them are formed with the help of the morpheme «tele»,
e.g. to telework, to telecommute / to work at home having a computer which
is connected with the enterprise for which one works/. There are also such
words as telebanking, telemarketing, teleshopping / when you can perform
different operations with the help of your computer without leaving your
home, all operations are registered by the computer at your bank/,
videobank /computerized telephone which registers all information which is
received in your absence/. In the sphere of lingusitics we have such neologisms as: machine
translation, interlingual / an artificial language for machine translation
into several languages / and many others. In the sphere of biometrics we have computerized machines which can
recognize characteristic features of people seeking entrance : finger-print
scanner / finger prints/, biometric eye-scanner / blood-vessel arrangements
in eyes/, voice verification /voice patterns/. These are types of
biometric locks. Here we can also mention computerized cards with the help
of which we can open the door without a key. In the sphere of medicine computors are also used and we have the
following neologisms: telemonitory unit / a telemonitory system for
treating patience at a distance/. With the development of social activities neologisms appeared as well,
e.g. youthquake - âîëíåíèÿ ñðåäè ìîëîäåæè, pussy-footer - ïîëèòèê, èäóùèé
íà êîìïðîìèñû, Euromarket, Eurodollar, Europarliament, Europol etc. In the modern English society there is a tendency to social
stratification, as a result there are neologisms in this sphere as well,
e.g. belonger - ïðåäñòàâèòåëü ñðåäíåãî êëàññà, ïðèâåðæåíåö êîíñåðâàòèâíûõ
âçãëÿäîâ. To this group we can also refer abbreviations of the type
yuppie /young urban professional people/, such as: muppie, gruppie, rumpie,
bluppie etc. People belonging to the lowest layer of the society are
called survivers, a little bit more prosperous are called sustainers, and
those who try to prosper in life and imitate those, they want to belong
to, are called emulaters. Those who have prospered but are not belongers
are called achievers. All these layers of socety are called VAL /Value
and Lifestyles/ . The rich belong also to jet set that is those who can afford to travel by
jet planes all over the world enjoying their life. Sometimes they are
called «jet plane travellers». During Margaret Thatcher’s rule the abbreviation PLU appeared which means
«People like us» by which snobbistic circles of society call themselves.
Nowadays /since 1989/ PLU was substituted by «one of us». There are a lot of immigrants now in UK , in connection with which
neologisms partial and non-partial were formed /èìåþùèå ïðàâî æèòü â
ñòðàíå è åãî àíòîíèì/. The word-group «welfare mother» was formed to denote a non-working single
mother living on benefit. In connection with criminalization of towns in UK volantary groups of
assisting the police were formed where dwellers of the neighbourhood are
joined. These groups are called «neighbourhood watch», «home watch».
Criminals wear «stocking masks» not to be recognized. The higher society has neologisms in their speech, such as : dial-a-meal,
dial-a-taxi. In the language of teen-agers there are such words as : Drugs! /OK/,
sweat /áåã íà äëèííûå äèñòàíöèè/, task /home composition /, brunch etc. With the development of professional jargons a lot of words ending in
«speak» appeared in English, e.g. artspeak, sportspeak, medspeak, education-
speak, video-speak, cable-speak etc. There are different semantic groups of neologisms belonging to everyday
life: a) food e.g. «starter»/ instead of «hors d’oevres»/, macrobiotics / raw
vegetables, crude rice/ , longlife milk, clingfilm, microwave stove,
consumer electronics, fridge-freezer, hamburgers /beef-, cheese-, fish-,
veg- /. b) clothing, e.g. catsuit /one-piece clinging suit/, slimster , string /
miniscule bikini/, hipster / trousers or skirt with the belt on hips/,
completenik / a long sweater for trousers/, sweatnik /a long jacket/,
pants-skirt, bloomers / lady’s sports trousers/. c) footwear e.g. winklepickers /shoes with long pointed toes/, thongs
/open sandals/, backsters /beech sandals with thick soles/. d) bags, e.g. bumbag /a small bag worn on the waist/, sling bag /a bag
with a long belt/, maitre / a small bag for cosmetics/. There are also such words as : dangledolly / a dolly-talisman dangling in
the car before the windscreen/, boot-sale /selling from the boot of the
car/, touch-tone /a telephone with press-button/. Neologisms can be also classified according to the ways they are formed.
They are subdivided into : phonological neologisms, borrowings, semantic
neologisms and syntactical neologisms. Syntactical neologisms are divided
into morphological /word-building/ and phraseological /forming word-
groups/. Phonological neologisms are formed by combining unique combinations of
sounds, they are called artificial, e.g. rah-rah /a short skirt which is
worn by girls during parades/, «yeck» /»yuck» which are interjections to
express repulsion produced the adjective yucky/ yecky. These are strong
neologisms. Strong neologisms include also phonetic borrowings, such as «perestroika»
/Russian/, «solidarnosc» /Polish/, Berufsverbot / German /, dolce vita
/Italian/ etc. Morphological and syntactical neologisms are usually built on patterns
existing in the language, therefore they do not belong to the group of
strong neologisms. Among morphological neologisms there are a lot of compound words of
different types, such as «free-fall»-»ðåçêîå ïàäåíèå êóðñà àêöèé» appeared
in 1987 with the stock market crash in October 1987 /on the analogy with
free-fall of parachutists, which is the period between jumping and opening
the chute/. Here also belong: call-and-recall - âûçîâ íà äèñïàíñåðèçàöèþ,
bioastronomy -search for life on other planets, rat-out - betrayal in
danger , zero-zero (double zero) - ban of longer and shorter range weapon,
x-rated /about films terribly vulgar and cruel/, Ameringlish /American
English/, tycoonography - a biography of a business tycoon. There are also abbreviations of different types, such as resto, teen
/teenager/, dinky /dual income no kids yet/, ARC /AIDS-related condition,
infection with AIDS/, HIV / human immuno-deficiency virus/. Quite a number of neologisms appear on the analogy with lexical units
existing in the language, e.g. snowmobile /automobile/, danceaholic
/alcoholic/, airtel /hotel/, cheeseburger /hamburger/, autocade /
cavalcade/. There are many neologisms formed by means of affixation, such as:
decompress, to disimprove, overhoused, educationalist, slimster, folknik
etc. Phraseological neologisms can be subdivided into phraseological units
with transferred meanings, e.g. to buy into/ to become involved/, fudge
and dudge /avoidance of definite decisions/, and set non-idiomatic
expressions, e.g. electronic virus, Rubic’s cube, retail park, acid rain ,
boot trade etc.
Changes in pronunciation. In Modern British English there is a tendency to change pronunciation of
some sounds and combinations of sounds due to the influence of American
English and some other factors. These changes are most noticeable in the
speech of teachers and students of the universities in the Southern part of
England /Oxford, Cambridge, London/. There are the following changes in pronouncing vowels: a) shortening of long vowels, especially at the end of the word and
before voiceless consonants, e.g. see, keep; b) lengthening of short vowels before voiced consonants, e.g. big, good,
come, jam etc. In such adjectives which end in /d/ lengthening of the
vowel is observed all over England, e.g. bad, sad, glad, mad etc. c) drawling of stressed syllables and clipping of unstressed syllables. d) In unstressed syllables / / is pronounced instead of / i /, e.g. /b
`ko:z/, /`evid ns/ etc. e) In the words consisting of three or more syllables there is a tendency
to have two main stresses,e.g. /`nes `s ri/, /`int `restin/. f) The diphthong /ou/ is pronounced / u/,e.g. home /h um/, go /g u/. g) the diphthong / u / is pronounced /o:/, e.g. sure /sho:/. Vowels can also change under the influence of consonants: a) after fricatives and consonants /n/ and /m/ /ju:/ is pronounced as
/u:/, e.g. resume, music, news, enthusiasm.
b) before fricatives and combinations of fricatives with consonants «a«
is pronounced as / /, e.g. dance, answer, class, fast. The pronunciation of some consonants is also changed : a) after a vowel /r/ is pronounced ,e.g. /ka:r/ , /ha:rt/. b)There appears an intrusive /r/ in the combinations where after the
final vowel / / there is a vowel at the beginning of the next word, e.g.
the idea of, Asia and Europe/ on the analogy with word combinations there
is, there are/. c) /p/ and /t/ are glotalized in the middle of the word,e.g. matter is
pronounced as /`m ? /, happy as /`h ? i/. d) /s/ is used instead of /sh/ before /i/ in the structure of suffixes,
e.g. social /`sousi l/, negotiate / ni`gousi,eit/; e) /l/ is vocalized at the end of the word, e.g. full/ ful/( close to
/v/ in sound). f) /sh/ is voiced in the intervocal position in some geographical names,
e.g . «Asia», «Persia»; g) combinations of sounds /dj/, /tj/ , /sj/ in such words as duke, tube,
issue have two variants of pronunciation: /d3u:k/ and /dju:k/, /chu:b/ and
/tju:b/, /`ishu:/ and /`isju:/; g) pronunciation approaching spelling is being developed, e.g. often
/`oftn/, forehead / fo:`hed/ etc; h) /t/ and/d/ at the end of words are not pronounced, e.g. «half past
five’ /`ha:f `pa:s`faiv/, «old man» /`oul `m n/.
LEXICOGRAPHY
The theory and practice of compiling dictionaries is called
lexicography. The history of compiling dictionaries for English comes as
far back as the Old English period, where we can find glosses of religious
books / interlinear translations from Latin into English/. Regular
bilingual dictionaries began to appear in the 15-th century /Anglo-Latin, Anglo-French , Anglo-German/. The first unilingual dictionary explaining difficult words appeared in
1604, the author was Robert Cawdry, a schoolmaster. He compiled his
dictionary for schoolchildren. In 1721 an English scientist and writer
Nathan Bailey published the first etymological dictionary which explained
the origin of English words. It was the first scientific dictionary, it was
compiled for philologists. In 1775 an English scientist compiled a famous explanatory dictionary.
Its author was Samuel Johnson. Every word in his dictionary was illustrated
by examples from English literature, the meanings of words were clear from
the contexts in which they were used.. The dictionary was a great success
and it influenced the development of lexicography in all countries. The
dictionary influenced normalization of the English vocabulary. But at
the same time it helped to preserve the English spelling in its
conservative form. In 1858 one of the members of the English philological society Dr.
Trench raised the question of compiling a dictionary including all the words existing in the language. The
philological society adopted the decision to compile the dictionary
and the work started. More than a thousand people took part in collecting
examples, and 26 years later in 1884 the first volume was published. It
contained words beginning with «A» and «B». The last volume was published
in 1928 that is 70 years after the decision to compile it was adopted. The
dictionary was called NED and contained 12 volumes. In 1933 the dictionary was republished under the title «The Oxford
English Dictionary», because the work on the dictionary was conducted in
Oxford. This dictionary contained 13 volumes. As the dictionary was very
large and terribly expensive scientists continued their work and compiled
shorter editions of the dictionary: «A Shorter Oxford Dictionary»
consisting of two volumes. It had the same number of entries, but far less
examples from literature. They also compiled «A Concise Oxford Dictionary»
consisting of one volume and including only modern words and no examples
from literature. The American lexicography began to develop much later, at the end of the
18-th century. The most famous American English dictionary was compiled by
Noah Webster. He was an active stateman and public man and he published his
first dictionary in 1806. He went on with his work on the dictionary and in
1828 he published a two-volume dictionary. He tried to simplify the English
spelling and transcription. He introduced the alphabetical system of
transcription where he used letters and combinations of letters instead of
transcription signs. He denoted vowels in closed syllables by the
corresponding vowels, e.g. / a/, /e/, / i/, / o/, /u/. He denoted vowels
in the open syllable by the same letters, but with a dash above them,e.g.
/ a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/. He denoted vowels in the position before /r/ as
the same letters with two dots above them, e.g. / a/, /o/ and by the l
etter «e» with two dots above it for the combinations «er», «ir», «ur»
because they are pronounced identically. The same tendency is preserved
for other sounds : /u:/ is denoted by /oo/, /y/ is used for the sound /j/
etc.
Classification of dictionaries All dictionaries are divided into linguistic and encyclopedic
dictionaries. Encyclopedic dictionaries describe different objects,
phenomena, people and give some data about them. Linguistic dictionaries
describe vocabulary units, their semantic structure, their origin, their
usage. Words are usually given in the alphabetical order. Linguistic dictionaries are divided into general and specialized . To
general dictionries two most widely used dictionaries belong: explanatory
and translation dictionaries. Specialized dictionaries include
dictionaries of synonyms, antonyms, collocations, word-frequency,
neologisms, slang, pronouncing, etymological, phraseological and others. All types of dictionaries can be unilingual ( excepting translation ones)
if the explanation is given in the same language, bilingual if the
explanation is given in another language and also they can be polilingual. There are a lot of explanatory dictionaries (NED, SOD, COD, NID, N.G.
Wyld’s «Universal Dictionary» and others). In explanatory dictionaries the
entry consists of the spelling, transcription, grammatical forms, meanings,
examples, phraseology. Pronunciation is given either by means of the
International Transcription System or in British Phonetic Notation which is
different in each large dictionary, e.g. /o:/ can be indicated as / aw/,
/or/, /oh/, /o/. etc. Translation dictionaries give words and their equivalents in the other
language. There are English-Russian dictionaries by I.R. Galperin, by
Y.Apresyan and others. Among general dictionaries we can also mention
Learner’s dictionaries. They began to appear in the second half of the 20-
th century. The most famous is «The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary» by A.S.
Hornby. It is a unilingual dictionary based on COD, for advanced foreign
learners and language teachers. It gives data about grammatical and lexical
valency of words. Specialized dictionaries of synonyms are also widely
used, one of them is «A Dictionary of English Synonyms and Synonymous
Expressions» by R.Soule. Another famous one is «Webster’s Dictionary of
Synonyms». These are unilingual dictionaries. The best known bilingual
dictionary of synonyms is «English Synonyms» compiled by Y. Apresyan. In 1981 «The Longman Lexicon of Contemporary English» was compiled, where
words are given in 14 semantic groups of everyday nature. Each word is
defined in detail, its usage is explained and illustrated, synonyms,
antonyms are presented also. It describes 15000 items, and can be referred
to dictionaries of synonyms and to explanatory dictionaries. Phraseological dictionaries describe idioms and colloquial phrases,
proverbs. Some of them have examples from literature. Some lexicographers
include not only word-groups but also anomalies among words. In «The Oxford
Dicionary of English Proverbs» each proverb is illustrated by a lot of
examples, there are stylistic references as well. The dictionary by
Vizetelli gives definitions and illustrations, but different meanings of
polisemantic units are not given. The most famous bilingual dictionary of
phraseology was compiled by A.V. Koonin. It is one of the best
phraseological dictionaries. Etymological dictionaries trace present-day words to the oldest forms of
these words and forms of these words in other languages. One of the best
etymological dictionaries was compiled by W. Skeat. Pronouncing dictionaries record only pronunciation. The most famous is D.
Jones’ s «Pronouncing Dictionary». Dictionaries of neologisms are : a four-volume «Supplement to NED» by
Burchfield, «The Longman Register of New Words»/1990/, «Bloomsury
Dictionary of New Words» /1996/.
SEMINARS
Seminar 1
Language units. The smallest language unit. The function of a root morpheme. The main function of suffixes. The secondary function of suffixes. The main function of prefixes. The secondary function of prefixes. Splinters and their formation in English. The difference between affixes and splinters. Structural types of words in English. The stem of a word and the difference beween a simple word, a stem and a
root. The difference between a block compound and a nominal benomial. The difference between a word and a phraseological unit. The similarity between a word and a phraseological unit.
Analyze the following lexical units according to their structure. Point
out the function of morphemes. Speak about bound morphemes and free
morphemes. Point out allomorphs in analyzed words: accompany unsystematic forget-me-not computerise expressionless reservation de-restrict superprivileged moisture lengthen clannish pleasure beautify workaholic reconstruction beflower inwardly counterculture specialise moneywise three-cornered round table Green Berets to sandwich in
Seminar 2.
Affixation. Classification of suffixes according to the part of speech they form. Classification of suffixes according to the stem they are added to. Classification of suffixes according to their meaning. Classification of suffixes according to their productivity. Classification of suffixes according to their origin. Classification of prefixes according to their meaning. Classification of prefixes according to their origin. Classification of prefixes according to their productivity.
Analyze the following derived words, point out suffixes and prefixes and
classify them from different points of view:
to embed nourishment unsystematic to encourage inwardly to accompany translatorese dispensable clannishness to de-restrict workaholic jet-wise reconstruction to overreach thouroughly afterthought foundation childishness transgressor to re-write completenik gangsterdom pleasure concentration refusenik counter-culture brinkmanship allusion self-criticism to
computerise slimster reservation
translation
Seminar 3
Compound words. Characteristic features of compound words in different languages. Characteristic features of English compounds. Classification of compound words according to their structure. Classification of compound words according to the joining element. Classification of compound words according to the parts of speech. Classification of compound words according to the semantic relations
between the components. Ways of forming compound words.
Analyze the following compound words:
note-book speedometer son-in-law to job-hop brain-gain video-corder
fair-haired forget-me-not Anglo-Russian teach-in back-grounder biblio-klept theatre-goer well-dressed bio-engineer to book-hunt mini-term to baby-sit blood-thirsty good-for-nothing throw-away do-gooder skin-head kleptomania sportsman para-trooper airbus bus-napper cease-fire three-
cornered tip-top brain-drain bread-and-
butter Compare the strucure of the following words:
Conversion as a way of wordbuilding. Different points of view on the nature of conversion. Semantic groups of verbs which can be converted from nouns. The meanings of verbs converted from adjectives. Semantic groups of nouns which can be converted from verbs. Substantivised adjectives. Characteristic features of combinations of the type «stone wall». Semantic groups of combinations of this type.
Analyze the following lexical units:
to eye a find to
slim a grown-up to airmail steel helmet London season resit sleep a flirt a read
handout to weekend a build-up supersonics a non-formal to wireless to submarine to blue-pencil to blind - the blind - blinds distrust a jerk to
radio news have-nots the
English to co-author to water to winter a sit-down mother-in-law morning star undesirables a walk a find dislike log cabin finals
Seminar 5.
Shortenings and abbreviations.
Lexical and graphical abbreviations,the main differences between them. Types of graphical abbreviations. Types of initias, peculiarities of their pronunciation. Lexical shortenings of words, their reference to styles. Compound-shortened words, their structural types.
Analyze the following lexical units:
aggro /aggression/ Algol / algorythmic language/ apex /eipeks/ - advanced purchased excursion/ payment for an excursion
ninety days before the time of excursion/ A-day /announcement Day - day of announcing war/ AID / artifitial insemination by a donor/ AIDS / acquired immunity deficiency syndrome/ Ala / Alabama/ a.s.a.p. /as soon as possible/ bar-B-Q ,barb /barbecue/ to baby-sit / baby-sitter/ A-level /advanced level/ BC /birth certificate/ burger /hamberger/ Camford, Oxbridge CALL /computer-assisted language learning/ CAT /computer-assisted training/ cauli / cauliflower/ COD / cash on delivery/ COBOL / k ubol/ /common business-oriented language/ co- ed comp /komp, k mp/ /accompaniment/ DINKY /double income ,no kids yet/ E-Day /entrance day //Common Market/ expo/exposition/ edbiz/ educational business/ el-hi / elementary and high schools/, ex lib/ex libris/ /from the library of/ etc Euratom fax /facsimile/ G-7 / group of seven: GB, Germany, Japan, France, Canada, Italy, Spain/.
FORTRAN /formula translation/.
Seminar 6.
Phraseological units.
Ways of forming phraseological units. Semantic classification of phraseological units. Structural classification of phraseological units. Syntactical classification of phraseological units.
Analyze the following phraseological units according to their meaning,
structure, syntactical function and the way they are formed:
When pigs fly /never/. To leap into marriage. To be a whipping boy. To be behind scenes. Girl Friday /a man’s assistant/. Fire in the belly. Man Friday /a true friend/. A dear John. To be on the beam. Game, set and match. Country and western. To jump out of one’s skin. As smart as paint. It’s my cup of tea. Robin Crusoe and Friday / seats at a theatre divided by a passage/.
Fortune favours fools. To be in the dog house. The green power. Green Berets. Culture vulture. To get off one’s back. To make headlines. On the nose. With a bump. To have a short fuse. To vote with one’s feet. Nuts and bolts. Blackboard jungle. The sky is the limit. Cash and carry. To nose out. To sandwich in. Berlin wall.
A close mouth catches no flies. To speak BBB.
To sound like a computer. As dull as lead. Last but not least. On the stroke of.
Seminar 7.
Phraseological units.
Students choose ten phraseological units from Koonin’s dictionary of
phraseological units and a unilingual dictionary of idioms and analyze them
in the written form. During the seminar they analyze their phrasological
units chosen from dictionaries at the blackboard.
Seminar 8.
Borrowings.
Classification of borrowings according to the language from which they
were borrowed: Latin borrowings. French borrowings. Italian borrowings. Scandinavian borrowings. German borrowings. Russian borrowings. Classification of borrowings according to the borrowed aspect: phonetic
borrowings, semantic borrowings, translation loans, morphemeic borrowings,
hybrids. Classification of borrowings according to the degree of assimilation:
fully assimilated borrowings, partly assimilated borrowings, barbarisms.
Borrowings partly assimilated semantically, grammatically, phonetically and
graphically.
Analyze the following borrowings:
school represent sky-blue degree rhythm immobility chandelier the Zoo vase mot /mou/ hybrid bouffant illuminate keenly communicative possessiveness to reproach command moustache gifted boutique skipper cache-pot well-scrubbed nouveau riche emphatic mysteriously dactyl Nicholas group to possess chenile psychological garage guarantee contempt trait/trei/ triumph stomach sympathy cynical Philipp schoolboy Christianity paralyzed system hotel cyclic diphtheria kerchief dark-skinned.
Seminar 9
Semaciology.
Word and notion. Lexical meaning and notion. Polysemy. Homonyms. Synonyms. Antonyms. Classifications of homonyms when applied to analysis. Classifications of antonyms when applied to analysis.
Analyze the following lexical units applying the above mentioned
classifications of homonyms and antonyms:
present - absent, present - to present like , to like - to dislike - dislike sympathy - antipathy progress - to progress, regress - to regress success - failure, successful- unsuccessful left - left/to leave/, right adj. - right n. inflexible - flexible unsafe - safe adj. - safe n. fair n. - fair adj. unfair, foul piece - peace dark-haired - fair-haired a row - a row /rou/ - /rau/ a fan - a fan superiority - inferiority different - similar, indifferent, alike, difference - similarity meaningful - meaningless after prep.- before -before adv., before conj. to gossip - a gossip shapeless - shapy air - to air - air fearless - fearful bright - dim, dull, sad to fasten - to unfasten something - nothing eldest - oldest -youngest to husband - husband obscure - to obscure unaccustomed - accustomed to exclude - to include to conceal -to reveal too - too- two somewhere - nowhere a drawer - a drawer with - without
Seminar 10.
Neology. Neology «blowup» and the work of R.Berchfield. Semantic neologisms, transnomination and proper neologisms. Semantic groups of neologisms connected with computerization. Social stratification and neologisms. Semantic groups of neologisms referring to everyday life. Phonological neologisms and borrowings as strong neologisms. Morphological and syntactical neologisms. Changes in pronunciation.
Analyze the following neologisms from the point of view of neology theory
and also from the point of view of their morphemic structure and the way
they were formed :
to clip-clip AIDS coup sound barrier to Vice-Preside boutique to re-familiarize tourmobile sevenish to de-dramatize non-formals to baby-sit
to scrimp and save fireside chat hide-away coin-in-the-slot cashless society memo We shall overcome. to dish old wine in new bottles to-ing and fro-ing multinationals the Commons hyperacidity religiosity D-Day face-to-face/tuition/ femme-fatalish to the wingtips to river singer-songwriter beatnik communication gap laundered money cheeseburger Don’t change horses. to put a freeze on micro-surgical SA out-doorsy medicare Cold War self-exile public-
schooly brain-drainer movers and shakers Euroyuppie
Seminar 11.
Control work on the analysis of language units. Each student gets
six language units of different types / simple words, derived words,
compound words, phraseological units, combinations of the type «stone
wall», borrowings, abbreviations, antonyms, homonyms, neologisms ,
abbreviations/ and is to analize them from all points of view which were
studied during the seminars.
Seminar 12.
Lexicography. Analysis of the control paper. Historical development of British lexicography. Historical development of American lexicography. Classification of dictionaries. Student reports on dictionaries they use in their work.
SOURCES
Adams V. Introduction into English Wordformation. Lnd.,
1983 .
Akhmanova O.S. Lexicology: Theory and Method. M. 1972
Arnold I.V. The English Word . M. 1986.
Burchfield R.W. The English Language. Lnd. ,1985
Canon G. Historical Changes and English Wordformation: New
Vocabulary items. N.Y., 1986.
Ginzburg R.S. et al. A Course in Modern English Lexicology.
M., 1979.
Jespersen ,Otto. Growth and Structure of the English
Language. Oxford, 1982.
Halliday M.A.K. Language as Social Semiotics. Social
Interpretation of Language and Meaning. Lnd., 1979.
Howard Ph. New words for Old. Lnd., 1980.
Labov W. The Social Stratification of English in New York
City. Washington, 1966.
Maurer D.W. , High F.C. New Words - Where do they come from and where do they go. American Speech., 1982.
Patridge E. Slang To-day and Yesterday. Lnd., 1979.
Potter S. Modern Linguistics. Lnd., 1957.
Quirk R. Style and Communication in the English Language.
Lnd., 1980.
Schlauch, Margaret. The English Language in Modern Times.
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