Recommended Reading Obligatory:

1. Arnold I.V. The English Word / И.В. Арнольд. Лексикология современного английского языка. Изд. 3-е – М.: Высшая школа, 1986. – C. 9–26.

2. Ginzburg R.S., Khidekel S.S., Knyazeva G.Y., Sankin A.A. A Course in Modern English Lexicology – M.: Higher School Publishing House, 1979. – P. 5–11.

3. Смирницкий А.И.. Лексикология английского языка. – М.: Изд-во литературы на иностр. языках, 1959. – С. 5–47.

4. Харитончик З.А. Лексикология английского языка. – Минск: Вышэйшая школа, 1992. – С. 5–26.

Optional:

1. Языковая номинация (Общие вопросы). – М.: Наука, 1977.

2. Языковая номинация (Виды наименований). – М.: Наука, 1977.

3. Weinreich U. Soviet and East European Linguistics. Current Trends in Linguistics. – In: Readings in Modern English Lexicology) C.С. Хидекель, Р.З.Гинзбург, Г.Ю. Князева, А.А.Санкин. Английская лексикология в выдержках и извлечениях. – Л.: Просвещение Ленинградское отделение. 1969. – P. 6–8.

4. Quirk R. The Use of English. – In: Readings in Modern English Lexicology. C.С. Хидекель, Р.З.Гинзбург, Г.Ю. Князева, А.А.Санкин. Английская лексикология в выдержках и извлечениях. – Л.: «Просвещение» Ленинградское отделение. 1969. – P.56–62.

5. Weinreich U. Languages in Contact. – In: Texts on Lexical Semantics. Reader in English Lexicology. Minsk State Linguistic University, 1998. – P. 61–65.

6. Spencer A. Morphological Theory. An Introduction to Word Structure in Generative Grammar. – Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1993. Ch. 1, 2 of Part I. P. 3–61.

Topic 2 Etymological survey of the English Lexicon

Key words: etymology, folk etymology, etymological doublets/triplets, native word, borrowing/borrowed word/ loan word(semantic borrowing, borrowing proper, oral, written/literary borrowing) loan translation, origin, source, assimilation (complete, partial) of borrowing, hybrid, barbarism, neologism, international words, translator’s false friends. Look up these terms in the glossary or in the sources indicated in the bibliography to the glossary. Compare the definitions given in English and in Russian.

Problems for Discussion

1. Words of native origin (Indo-European, Germanic words). Their semantic and structural properties. Their derivational potential.

2. Borrowings in English. Causes of borrowing words from other languages. Types of borrowings.

3. The origin versus the source of borrowings. Etymological doublets/triplets. Folk etymology.

4. The ways and degrees of assimilation of loan words in English.

5. International words. Translator’s false friends.

Questions and Tasks

1. Look up the origin of the words listed below in “The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English” (COD). – Oxford University Press, 1982. Comment on the etymological characteristics of the words:

atmosphere, company, door, fashion, horse, hundred, husband, kilt, parliament, pneumonia, physician, summer, street, salmon.

2. Rearrange the loan words listed below into eight groups according to their source language: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch/Flemish, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish. Use the etymological information given in COD:

barricade, boom, cannibal, caravan, cruise, delicatessen, frankfurter, guitar, giraffe, geisha, glasnost, hamburger, harem, icon, judo, ketchup, mosque, motto, noodle, perestroika, prima donna, quartz, sauerkraut, sketch, studio, tea, tornado, tsunami, violin, yacht.

3. Say which of the borrowings given above are partially/completely assimilated in English and which are considered barbarisms.

4. Define the type of borrowings on the basis of the etymological information given in COD: borrowings proper, semantic borrowings, loan translations, international words, neologisms. Analyse their meanings. Give their Russian equivalents:

babushka ‘a woman’s head scarf, folded triangularly and tied under the chin’, bureau ‘a subdivision of an executive department’, cargo, history, homesickness (Germ. Heimweh), hyper ‘excited or nervous about something’, karaoke, mafia, manager, superman (Germ. Übermensch), tragedy.

5. Compare the correlated words in English and in Russian. Explain why they are called ‘translator’s false friends’. Give the Russian equivalents of the English loan words, and the English equivalents of the Russian words:

1. Active – given to action; working, effective, practical, diligent; radioactive

Актив – группа наиболее деятельных лиц в каком-то коллективе; чьи-то успехи, достижения, преимущества

2. Actual - existing in fact; real, present, current

Актуальный – важный, существенный для настоящего момента; злободневный, насущный, современный

3. Accurate – careful, precise; in exact conformity with a standard or with truth

Аккуратный – склонный к чистоте и порядку; исполнительный, пунктуальный

4. Angina – pain in chest resulting from over-exertion when heartis diseased

Ангина – острое инфекционное заболевание, проявляющееся в воспалении нёбных миндалин и слизистой оболочки зева

5. Inválid – not valid, esp. having no legal force

Инвалид – человек, утративший трудоспособность вследствие ранения, увечья, болезни или старости

6. Receipt – fact or action of receiving or being received into person's hands or possession; amount of money etc. received

Рецепт – письменное предписание врача в аптеку о составе лекарства с указанием способа его применения

7. Solid – of stable shape, not liquid or fluid, having some rigidity, (solid food); of solid substance throughout, not hollow, without internal cavities

Солидный – прочный, надёжный, основательный; заслуживающий доверия, с установившейся репутацией, авторитетом