Language theory / Seminar 6

Seminar 6

1. Classify the following words according to the type of motivation

Babble, basketball, blooming (health), bookshelf, bottleneck, boyish, bump, buzz, catlike,chatter, chirrup, crash, eatable,foot of the mountain, giggle, green with envy, head of the procession, heart of the country, howl, key to a mystery, nightgown, purr, splash, traveling-bag, twitter.

2. Consulting an etymological dictionary, analyse the structure and origin of the following words. Comment on the cases of false etymology, translate the words into Russian.

Buttery, cutlet, may-day, mushroom, nightmare, pantry, periwig, primrose, reindeer, rosemary, sandblind, shamefaced, slow-worm, sparrow-glass.

3. Translate the following sentences into Russian paying attention to the different meanings of the words in bold. Comment on their lexical and grammatical contexts.

a. Nouns

1. I wasn’t in the least surprised at Bigo wanting to lug Jeeves into his private affairs like this. 2. Titin, marriedsixteen years, with three children, had an affair with his secretary, aged eighteen. 3. in through his open bedroom window came the sweet-scented air. 4. at his tone her colour rose and she lost her air of comradeship. 5. The German attacks spent their force, and the huge Allied counter-attack began. 6. The pilot was having a heart-attack. 7. The pages brought him the robe of tissued gold, and set the crown and the scepre before him. 8. when she sat, he bent over and lightly kissed the crown of her head. 9. A strange glitter came into his eyes. They loomed intensely behind his glasses.10. Two men stood drinking from pint glasses and talking quetly.

Adjectives

Her voice was low. “I’m sorry, Johnny, I didn’t want to be mean. 2. He could not bear to throw his money about. He was not exactly mean, but he was not generous. 3. What I felt was plain hatred, fierce and basic. 4. She was not plain, but not beautiful. 5. A sharp knife and a hacksaw were also wrapped inside. 6. The man was sharp – he didn’t miss much. 7. There was a short silence at the other end of the line. 8. I don’t think he could have been short of money.

Verbs

I’m sure you didn’t mean to break that thermometer. 2. The day was just breaking as we landed. 3. He was a rich young man engaged in some mysterious “research work” at Cambridge. 4. We heard you were engaged to a girl out West. 5. One shell in the gun had been fired. The barrel smelled of powder fumes. 6. I hear you fired all your servants. 7. We were to ride on camels, and the animals were patiently kneeling, waiting for us to mount. 8. His anxiety and feeling of helplessness mounted.

Fill in the table:

Expression	Type of change	Meaning
arms and mouth of a river
china
Downing Street confirmed...
Manchester scored a goal
foot of a page

Comment on the phenomen of Polysemy, define the types of the meaning and a type of the transition. Translate the sentences into Russian:

Walker had arrived in London. His face was in every print shop.// The scandal was hushed up in an effort to save face. // I scratched the face of my belt buckle 2. I was not aware of your presence. Your foot is so light.// At the close of the reign of Charles the Second, most of his foot were musketeers. // 3. He grasped the hot metal with his bare hands. // Her father was released from prison by the unbarring hand of death. // The land round his house was in his own hands. // The mountains on either hand become loftier and steeper. // The foreman hired three new hands last week. // A jockey must have a hand for all sorts of horses, and in the case of two and three year olds a very good hand it must be. // Give the little girl a great big hand. // Aunt Edna writes a beautiful hand.// 4. She was lying down with a head. // It is not your fault that you have no head for politics. // Heads I win, (and) tails you lose. // Those wise heads came to the conclusion that there was hope. // The tallest boy stood at the head of the line // The studious girl graduated at the head of her class. 5. They think that the liberal line - uncontrolled immigration - can be held for a few more years, but not indefinitely. // The round line of the sea was bleared // Line, the silhouette of a garment that makes it look fashionable or unfashionable. // Drop me a few lines. // After the declaration of Commonwealth in 1653, Scottish laws came into line with those of England and Ireland. // His suggestion was refused by the committee because it was not in line with the party's way of thinking. 6. He bottomed with his feet and stood upright.// The provost in return bottomed the goblet // Send this saucepan to be new bottomed. // He had bottomed the whole inquiry. // House prices bottomed out in 1974. // Peter's feeling of sadness bottomed out and then he began to feel cheerful again. 7. He draws beautifully // 'Did you draw Pamela from anybody?'' she asked suddenly // How many horses will draw the royal coach? // The first quarter of 2006 draws to a close.// The buckle of my belt was never disturbed, except to draw it tighter, when I was pinched with hunger.// The anguish of the last chapters is too long drawn. // He drew quietly at / on his pipe. // This act drew after it important consequences. // The performance drew loud applause from the audience. // What answer can you draw from the proofs that are offered? // They drew amply upon their imagination when facts failed.

Decide whether the following pairs of words are synonyms.

priceless	worthless
influence	affect
illegal	illicit
politics	policy
distinct	far
verdict	sentence

Chose the word which is closest in meaning

economical	wasteful, mean, thrifty
allow	admit, bring, give
business	arrangement, commercial, duty
assume	collect, deny, suppose
demand	send, require, asked

Translate the following into Russian, define the type of synonyms:

ACCURATE/PRECISE

In ordinary usage, "accurate" and "precise" are often used as rough

synonyms, but scientists like to distinguish between them. Accurate

measurements reflect true values; but precise measurements are close to

each other, even if all of them are wrong in the same way. The same

distinction applies in scientific contexts to the related words

"accuracy" and "precision."

This distinction is not likely to come up outside of contexts where it

is understood, but science writers might want to be aware that the

general public will not understand this distinction unless it's

explained.

ALLUDE/REFER

To allude to something is to refer to it indirectly, by suggestion. If

you are being direct and unambiguous, you refer to the subject rather

than alluding to it.

AVENGE/REVENGE

When you try to get vengeance for people who've been wronged, you want

to avenge them. You can also avenge a wrong itself: "He avenged the

murder by taking vengeance on the killer." Substituting "revenge" for

"avenge" in such contexts is very common, but frowned on by some people.

They feel that if you seek revenge in the pursuit of justice you want to

avenge wrongs: not revenge them.

Translate into Russian, comment on the type of antonyms:

ANCESTOR/DESCENDANT

When Albus Dumbledore said that Lord Voldemort was "the last remaining

ancestor of Salazar Slytherin," more than one person noted that he had

made a serious verbal bumble; and in later printings of Harry Potter and

the Chamber of Secrets author J. K. Rowling corrected that to "last

remaining descendant." People surprisingly often confuse these two terms

with each other. Your great-grandmother is your ancestor; you are her

descendant.

Translate into Russian, paying the attention to the translation of the contranyms:

The great apparent discrepancy between the two Chroniclers is merely evident // Clothing shop assistants were irritating: their apparent flattery would drive me nuts as they'd try and offer me clothes that wouldn't fit. 2. I went on deck and overlooked the boundless waters. // Mary Read had little else to do than overlook the other servants. // He oversees all and overlooks none. 3. It was through an oversight that you were not invited. // congressional oversight 4. to give sanction to smth.// to apply / impose sanctions 5. "...we grumble a little now and then, to be sure. But there's no love lost between us."// I'm sorry, Bub, but you know as well as I do, in our family there's no love lost on coppers.

Translate the following paronyms:

ABSTRUSE/OBTUSE

Most people first encounter "obtuse" in geometry class, where it labels

an angle of more than 90 degrees and less than 180. Imagine what sort of

blunt arrowhead that kind of angle would make and you will understand

why it also has a figurative meaning of "dull, stupid." But people often

mix the word up with "abstruse," which means "difficult to understand."

When you mean to criticize something for being needlessly complex or

baffling, the word you need is not "obtuse," but "abstruse."

ACCEDE/EXCEED

If you drive too fast, you exceed the speed limit. "Accede" is a much

rarer word meaning "give in," "agree."

ACCEPT/EXCEPT

If you offer me Godiva chocolates I will gladly accept them--except for

the candied violet ones.

You can minister to someone by administering first aid.

ADMISSION/ADMITTANCE

"Admission" is a much more common word than "admittance" and is a good

choice for almost all contexts. You may gain admission or admittance to

a college, but you'll probably be dealing with its admissions office.

When "admittance" is used, it's most likely to refer to physical entry

into some place or other, as is indicated by signs saying "No

Admittance."

AFFLUENCE/EFFLUENCE

Wealth brings affluence; sewage is effluence.

AID/AIDE

In American English, a personal assistant is usually an "aide" (nurse's

aide, presidential aide) but an inanimate object or process is always an

"aid" (hearing aid, first aid).

ALTERNATE/ALTERNATIVE

Although UK authorities disapprove, in US usage, "alternate" is

frequently an adjective, substituted for the older "alternative": "an

alternate route." "Alternate" can also be a noun; a substitute delegate

is, for instance, called an "alternate." But when you're speaking of

"every other" as in "our club meets on alternate Tuesdays," you can't

substitute "alternative."

APPRAISE/APPRISE

When you estimate the value of something, you appraise it. When you

inform people of a situation, you apprise them of it.