S uper-neutral vocabulary
Stylistic coloring of super-neutral words
Archaisms
Barbarisms or foreign words
Bookish words/Poetic words
Super-neutral Words
Among elevated words we can find those which are used in official documents, diplomatic and commercial correspondence, legislation, etc. Their colouring is that of solemnity, and the words are termed «solemn words».
The other variety of words is the poetic diction - words used in poetry and lyrical prose. They are «poetic words».
The stylistic colouring of elevation also occurs in archaisms, bookish words and foreign words.
Archaisms
A rchaisms denote words which are practically out of use in present-day language and are felt as obsolete.
a) obsolescent words (выходящие из употребления).
E.g. Pronouns Thou – ты - Thee – тебя - Thy – твой Verbal ending -est – he makest
b) оbsolete words (вышедшие из употребления)
e.g. nay = no methinks = it seems to me
c) archaic words proper (истинные архаизмы) words that were in use in Old English.
e.g. losel = a lazy fellow troth = faith (вера)
d) historical words
e.g. ”yeoman”, “vassal”, “falconet”
Compare two variants of Canterbury Tales written in Middle English and translated into New English, find the obsolete, archaic words
W
When in April the sweet showers fall
And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all
The veins are bathed in liquor of such power
As brings about the engendering of the flower,
When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath
Exhales an air in every grove and heath
Upon tender shoots, and the young sun
His half-course in the sign of Ram has run,
And the small fowl are making melody
That sleep away the night with open eye
han that April with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour,
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tender croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his half cours y-ronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye
The slepen al the nyght with open eye …
Read and suggest the modern variant of the underlined words. Use the prompts given.
tiny creatures * probably * between * leather jug * echo * completely * before * a comic figure with a quick tongue * thank you * perhaps * I think |
One day belike 1000 years ago there lived atomies. They were so little they could live even in the bombards. Betwixt those bombards they used to play cap-a-pie every day. Their favorite game was bruit. One person used to tell a word and another repeated it several times. But there was one fool among those atomies who used to tell ‘Gramercy’ instead of ‘Haply’. And when he was asked if he would go to the wood he replied ‘Gramercy’ but didn’t go anywhere. The other meaning of the word completely spoiled the atomies world. Methinks that you should think ere you utter something.