3. Stylistic classification of English vocabulary
3.1. Barbarisms and Foreignisms
In the vocabulary of the English language there is a considerable layer of words called barbarisms. These are words of origin which have not entirely been assimilated into the English language. "They bear the appearance of a borrowing and are felt as something alien to the native tongue. The role foreign borrowings played in the development of the English literary language is well known, and the great majority of these borrowed words now form part of the rank and file of the English vocabulary. It is the science of linguistics that reveals the foreign nature of this or that word. But most of what were formerly foreign borrowings are now not regarded as foreign. But still there are some words which retain their foreign appearance. These words, which are called barbarisms, are, like archaisms, also considered to be on the outskirts of the literary language.
Most of them have corresponding English synonyms; e. g. chic (— stylish); bon mot (= a clever witty saying); en passant (= in passing); ad infinitum (== to infinity) and many other words and phrases.
It is very important to
distinguish between barbarisms and foreign words proper. Barbarisms
are words which
have already become facts of the English language. They are part and
parcel of the English word-stock, though they remain on the outskirts
of the literary vocabulary. Foreign
words do
not belong to the English vocabulary. They
are not registered by
the English dictionaries, except in a kind of agenda
which gives the meanings of the foreign words most frequently used in
literary English. Barbarisms are generally given in the body of the
dictionary.
Barbarisms are not made conspicuous in the text unless they bear a special load of stylistic information.
There are foreign words in the English vocabulary which fulfil a terminological function. Though they still retain their foreign appearance, they should not be regarded as barbarisms. Such words as ukase, udarnik, soviet, kolkhoz and the like denote certain concepts which reflect an objective reality not familiar to English-speaking communities. There are no names for them in English and so they have to be explained. New concepts of this type are generally given the names they have in the language of the people whose reality they reflect.
Further, such words as solo, tenor, concerto, blitzkrieg (the blitz), luftwaffe and the like should also be distinguished from barbarisms. They are different not only in their functions but in their nature as well. They are terms. Terminological borrowings have no synonyms; barbarisms may have almost exact synonyms. Barbarisms are a historical category. Many foreign words and phrases which were once foreign words used in literary English to express a concept non-existent in English reality, have little by little entered the class of words named barbarisms and many of these barbarisms have gradually lost their foreign peculiarities, become more or less naturalized and have merged with the native English stock of word. Both, foreign words and barbarisms are widely used in various styles of language with various aims, aims which predetermine their typical functions.
One of these functions is to supply local colour. In order to depict local conditions of life, concrete facts and events, customs and habits, special care is taken to introduce into passage such language elements as will reflect the environment.
"The little boy, too, we observed, had a famous appetite, and consumed schinken, and braten, and kartoffeln, and cranberry jam... with a gallantry that did honour to his nation."
In stylistic device often used by writers whose knowledge of the language and customs of the country they depict bursts out from the texture of the narrative. They use indefinite time, the barbarism loses its formal character and re-establishes its etymological meaning. Consequently, here again we see the clearly cut twofold application of the language unit, the indispensable requirement for a stylistic device.