Lesson 2

Task 1. a) Study the etymology of the word “COMMERCE” and its meanings.

Etymology:	COMMERCE
Latin commercium – “trade, trading” – from com- “together” + mercium (from merx, merc- “merchandise”) → Middle French → English (1537 in sense “dated social dealings between people”)

social dealings between people

COMMERCE

the activity of buying and selling,

especially on a large scale

b) Consider the following example sentences.

They have made their fortunes from industry and commerce.	Вони сколотили своє багатство, займаючись виробництвом і комерцією.
I have no commerce with this person.	Я не маю нічого спільного з цією людиною.
Economists predicted the possible increase of commerce by a great railroad.	Економісти передбачали можливе зростання торгівлі у місцевості поряд з великою залізницею.
He found himself outside the normal commerce of civilized life.	Він опинився за межами нормального спілкування цивілізованого життя.
More and more commerce is moving to the Internet.	Все більше й більше продажів здійснюється через Інтернет.

Task 2. Read and translate the passage.

Trade or Commerce?

The words “trade” and “commerce” are very similar, but they are not completely interchangeable.

Academically the word “trade” is much more used than “commerce”, at least in the field of Economics. Literal meaning of “trade” is “to give something and take another thing for your giving”; commerce means “trading things with money.”

Commerce is a very wide process in which commodities are traded, transported, exchanged etc., whereas trading is limited to buying and selling.

Commerce refers to the field wherever something is “commercialised” or money involved as a charge for some kind of a product or service. Commerce functions as the central mechanism which drives capitalism and certain other economic systems.

A quasi-official body in the U.S. is the “Chamber of Commerce.” It is an association of local businesses, but oddly enough a certificate from this body is accepted in international trade as proof that a product came from that community. We wouldn’t call this body the “Chamber of Trade.”

The collection of shops and businesses in our downtown areas are often called the “commercial centre”, but we wouldn’t call them the “trade centre.”

We say, “That business is doing a good trade in shoes (or some product.)” We wouldn’t say, “That business is doing a good commerce in shoes.”

At the same time, business done with other countries can be “International Trade” or “International Commerce.”

“Trade” usually means retailing, whereas “commerce” is a synonym of “wholesale trade.”