Stylistic Lexicology

Superneutral words

Superneutral words are used in official documents, diplometic and commercial correspondence, legislation etc. Such words have a tinge of pomposity, colouring of solemnity and are usually termed “solemn words”.

Archaism

The term denotes words that are practically out of use in present-day language and are felt as obsolete. Archaism may be subdivided into two groups:

1) historical archaisms - the words that lost their referents.

2) archaisms proper - the words that have been ousted by synonyms.

Bookish words are used in cultivated speech only - in books or in such types of oral communication as public speeches, official negotiations etc.

Borrowed and foreign words.

Sub-neutral words

Among the sub-neutral words the following groups are distinguished

a) Words used in informal speech only - colloquial

b) jargon and slang, as well as individual creations (nonce-words)

c) vulgarisms

The first group lies nearest to neutral words. They have no stylistic intentions in their use on the speaker’s part.

The words of the second group have been created on purpose with a view of intentional stylistic degradation.

The lowest place is taken by vulgarisms i.e. words which due to their indecency are scarcely admissible in civilized community.

Colloquial words are words with a tinge of familiarity and inofficiality about them. There is nothing ethicaly improper about them. But they cannot be used in official forms of speech. To colloquialism can be refered:

a) colloquialisms proper (colloquial substitutes of neutral words), e.g. young man - fellow - chap...

b) phonetic variants of neutral words fellow-fella

c) diminutives of neutral words and proper names bird-birdy

d) words whose primary meaning refer them to neutral words while their figurative meaning places them outside the neutral field, making them lightly colloquial e.g. spoon

e) most interjections belong to colloquial sphere.

Jargon words appear in professional or social groups for the purpose of replacing those words which already exist in the language.

Jargon words can be subdivided into two groups: Proffesional and social jargonisms.

Professional jargonism are informal substitutes of professional terms. They are used by representatives of the profession to facilitate communication.

Rightsizing, downsizing - cокращать штат

Strategizing - планировать

high performance culture - результаты работы с высокими показателями

benchmarks - вехи этапы и критерии.

That secretary is good at multitasking. She can answer the phone while she is working on the email and puttiing new entries into her boss’s calendar.

When you are on the phone with the client, you need to be mindful and keep focusing on the conversation, not checking the prices our stocks and bonds.

The boss thinks we need to spend more quality time with our dutch clients

Social jargonism are made up of words relevant for represantatives of the given social group with common interests. (I-also-beling-to-this-group function)

Cant - secret languange of the underworld. The only reason it appeared is striving to secrecy.

Slang - the part of vocabulary made by commonly understood and widely used words and expressions, intentional substitutes of neutral and elevated words and expressions.

Cockney - Rhyming slang, although there are exceptions.

Nonce-words are chance words, occasional words created for the given occasion by analogy with existing words by means of affixation, composition, conversion etc. Such words produse humorous effects and disappear completely.

There was a balconyful of people.

Vulgar words considered offensive for polite usage. two groups:

a) lexical vulgarisms - express ideas considered unmentionable.

b) stylistic vulgarisms - words whoose lexical meanings have nothing indecent about them but their stylistic value express derogatory attitude of the speaker towards the object of speech.

Dialect words show the social and geographical standing of the speaker.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14