Seminar 9 sociolinguistic dimension of the english vocabulary

Цель: рассмотрение этимологических особенностей словаря английского языка, а также стилистически маркированных слоёв лексики.

Задачи:

• ознакомление с происхождением английских слов;

• ознакомление с понятиями: исконно английские слова и заимствования;

• ознакомление с понятием ассимиляции английских слов;

• описание основных стилистически маркированных пластов лексики;

• рассмотрение основных групп слов, составляющих пласт литературной лексики;

• рассмотрение основных групп слов, составляющих пласт разговорной лексики.

Ключевые понятия: etymology, a native word, a borrowed word (a loan word), source of borrowing, origin of borrowing, translation loans, semantic loans, international words, assimilation of borrowings, completely assimilated borrowed words, partially assimilated borrowed words, barbarisms, stylistics, common literary layer (vocabulary), neutral layer, common colloquial layer, common literary words, terms, learned words, poetic words, archaic words, obsolete words, archaisms proper words, historical words, barbarisms, foreign words, neologism, nonce-words, common colloquial words, slang, jargonisms, professional words, dialectal words, vulgar words.

Points for discussion:

1. The origin of English words.

2. What is a) a native word? b) a borrowing?

3. Speak on the classification of borrowings.

4. Name semantic groups of words belonging to a) Indo-European stock b) common Germanic stock c) English words proper

5. Speak on the Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, Scandinavian, Holland, German and Russian borrowings.

6. Explain the difference between the source of borrowing and the origin of borrowing.

7. Define translation borrowings, semantic borrowings, international words.

8. Give the definition of assimilation of borrowings and classify them according to the degree of assimilation.

9. Speak on the nature of various stylistic layers of the English vocabulary.

10. Specify the meaning, functions, sphere of application of the special literary words (terms, poetic and highly literary words, archaic, obsolete words, barbarisms.

11. Specify the meaning, functions, sphere of application of slang, jargonisms, professionalisms, dialectal words, vulgar words).

Tasks suggested:

1. Subdivide the suggested native words into Indo-European, Germanic, English proper:

daughter, woman, room, land, cow, moon, to come, sea, red, spring, three, I, lady, always, goose, bear, fox, lord, tree, to sit, nose, birch, grey, old, glad, daisy, to stand, heart, hand, night, to eat, to see, to make.

2. Define the origin of the suggested words:

vacuum, sputnik, masseur (массажист), philosophy, xylophone (ксилофон), kindergarten, jalousie, gelatin, zoology, jamah (длинная хлопчатобумажная одежда индусов), violin, jarovize (яровизировать), chair, chagrin, chalcedony, exit, mix, xiphoid (мечевидный), jabot, jaeger, chef, chauffeur.

3. Subdivide the following words into completely assimilated, partially assimilated and barbarisms. If a word is partially assimilated define the aspect(s) in which it is not assimilated.

pen, moccasins, street, d'arsonvalization, sheikh, formula, hors-d'oeuvre (закуска), take, rickshaw, skin, garage, ciao, regime, coup d’état (переворот), yen, port, cafe, ballet, phenomenon, sherbet, eau-de-Cologne.

4. Match the translation borrowings on the left with the original phrases/words on the right. State the origin of the latter.

1. the moment of truth a) infra dignitatem

2. word-combination b) Wunderkind

3. below one’s dignity c) попутчик

4. first dancer d) el momento de la verdad

5. that goes without saying e) circulus vitiosus

6. fellow-traveler f) колхоз

7. wonder-child g) словосочетание

8. vicious circle h) sub judice

9. famous case i) cela va sans dire

10. collective farm j) cause célèbre

11. under consideration k) prima-balerina