5. Lexicography

The theory and practice of compiling dictionaries is called lexicography. The history of compiling dictionaries for English comes as far back as the Old English period, where we can find glosses of religious books / interlinear translations from Latin into English/. Regular bilingual dictionaries began to appear in the 15-th century /Anglo-Latin, Anglo-French , Anglo-German/.

The first unilingual dictionary explaining difficult words appeared in 1604, the author was Robert Cawdry, a schoolmaster. In 1721 an English scientist and writer Nathan Bailey published the first etymological dictionary which explained the origin of English words. It was the first scientific dictionary, it was compiled for philologists.

In 1775 an English scientist compiled a famous explanatory dictionary. Its author was Samuel Johnson. The dictionary was a great success and it influenced the development of lexicography in all countries. The dictionary influenced normalization of the English vocabulary. But at the same time it helped to preserve the English spelling in its conservative form.

In 1933 the dictionary was republished under the title “The Oxford English Dictionary”, because the work on the dictionary was conducted in Oxford. This dictionary contained 13 volumes. As the dictionary was very large and terribly expensive scientists continued their work and compiled shorter editions of the dictionary: “A Shorter Oxford Dictionary” consisting of two volumes.

The American lexicography began to develop much later, at the end of the 18-th century. The most famous American English dictionary was compiled by Noah Webster.

Classification of dictionaries

Dictionary – a book listing words of a language with their meaning and often with data regarding pronunciation, usage and/or origin.

All dictionaries are divided into linguistic and encyclopedic dictionaries. Encyclopedic dictionaries describe different objects, phenomena, people and give some data about them. Linguistic dictionaries describe vocabulary units, their semantic structure, their origin, their usage. Words are usually given in the alphabetical order.

Linguistic dictionaries are divided into general and specialized . To general dictionaries two most widely used dictionaries belong: explanatory and translation dictionaries. Specialized dictionaries include dictionaries of synonyms, antonyms, collocations, word-frequency, neologisms, slang, pronouncing, etymological, phraseological and others.

All types of dictionaries can be unilingual (excepting translation ones) if the explanation is given in the same language, bilingual if the explanation is given in another language and also they can be polilingual.

There are a lot of explanatory dictionaries (NED, SOD, COD, NID, N.G. Wyld’s “Universal Dictionary” and others). In explanatory dictionaries the entry consists of the spelling, transcription, grammatical forms, meanings, examples, phraseology. Pronunciation is given either by means of the International Transcription System or in British Phonetic Translation dictionaries give words and their equivalents in the other language. There are English-Russian dictionaries by I.R. Galperin, by Y.Apresyan and others. Among general dictionaries we can also mention Learner’s dictionaries. The most famous is “The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary” by A.S. Hornby. Specialized dictionaries of synonyms are also widely used, one of them is “A Dictionary of English Synonyms and Synonymous Expressions” by R.Soule. These are unilingual dictionaries. The best known bilingual dictionary of synonyms is “English Synonyms” compiled by Y. Apresyan.

In 1981 “The Longman Lexicon of Contemporary English” was compiled, where words are given in 14 semantic groups of everyday nature. It describes 15000 items, and can be referred to dictionaries of synonyms and to explanatory dictionaries.

Phraseological dictionaries describe idioms and colloquial phrases, proverbs. Some of them have examples from literature. The most famous bilingual dictionary of phraseology was compiled by A.V. Koonin. It is one of the best phraseological dictionaries.

Etymological dictionaries trace present-day words to the oldest forms of these words and forms of these words in other languages. One of the best etymological dictionaries was compiled by W. Skeat.

Pronouncing dictionaries record only pronunciation. The most famous is D. Jones’ s “Pronouncing Dictionary”.

1. According to sphere of usage all the vocabulary is divided into 3 groups.Literary w.have-bookish character;stable layer.Colloquial w-lively spoken ch-r;unstable layer.Neutral w.- universal ch-r.The literature layer consists of words accepted as legitimate members of vocabulary.They have no local or dialectal ch-r.They incl.1)common lit. w 2)terms 3)barbarisms&foreign w 4)archaisms 5)poetic w 6)lit. coinages including nonce-words.the colloquial voc has the following subgroups:1)common colloq. w 2)slang 3)jargonisms 4)professional w 5)dialectal w 6)vulgarisms 7)colloq. coinages.

Terms – words denoting various scientifical and technical objects, phenomena. They are found in technical texts, they directly refer to the object they mean, and emotionally neutral. Terms – monosemantic, meaning doesn’t depend on the context, it can obtain figurative meaning when it is taken out of its natural sphere of usage. When terms loose their quality of term and pass to common literary – determinisation.

Archaisms. In every period in the development of a literary language one can find words which will show more or less apparent changes in their meaning or usage. Types:1) Historical w-ds (historisms) are applied to concepts, objects, reflecting the last stages of the development of the human kind: yeoman – vassal, gouflet – armed thing for hunting; 2) The second group – absolete - are those that have already gone completely out of use but are still recognized by the English speaking community& have been replaced by synonymous: peasant-swain(obs.), dress-habit(obs.), to think – trow(obs.) 3) The third group, which may be called archaic proper, are words which are no longer recognized in modern English, words that were in use in Old English and which have either dropped out of the language entirely or have changed in their appearance - unrecognizable. The main stylistic function is to create true-to-life background in historical novels. Archaic words are used in historical novels(Walter Scott), in official and diplomatic documents, in business letters.

Poetic and highly literary words. poetic words belong to a definite style of language and perform in it their direct function. Poetic language has special means of communication, i.e. rhythmical arrangement, some syntactical peculiarities and certain number of special words. Poetic words form a rather insignificant layer of the special literary voc. There are mostly archaic words (quoth - to speak; eftsoons – again) and rarely used highly literary words which aim is to produce an elevated effect and used by modern ballad-mongers. This may be said to be the main function of poetic w-ds.

Barbarisms and foreign words & their stylistic functions. Barbarisms are words of foreign origin which have not entirely been assimilated into the English language. They bear the appearance of a borrowing and are felt as something alien to the native tongue. These words, which are called barbarisms, are also considered to be on the outskirts of the literary language. Most of them have corresponding English synonyms. Barbarisms are given in the dictionaries(*en passant – in passing). Foreign words do not belong to the English vocabulary & are not registered in dic-ries. In printed works foreign words and phrases are generally italicized to indicate their alien nature or their stylistic value. Both foreign words and barbarisms are widely used in various styles of language to supply local color, to stress that the action takes place in some foreign country.

Literary coinages & neologisms.Every period in the development of a language produces an enormous number of new words or new meanings of established words. Most of them do not live long. They are coined for use at the moment of speech, and therefore possess a peculiar property – that of temporariness. They “serve the occasion”. Such words are called individual (stylistic) coinages or neologisms. The main f-n: 1) to help the writer to achieve laconism of style & expressiveness;2) to create a humorous effect. They are build in the same way as other words of English voc-ry.(villagize, showmanship, talkathon).You are the bestest good one in the world.) Nonce-words-coined to suit 1particular occasion (e.g. importunity-opportunity; positutly-absolutely positive).

Slang –seems to mean everything that is below the standard usage of present day English. It represents the lowest layer of the engl. Vocabulary, the use of which is regarded a violation of the norms of standard English. S. is generally used in fiction and in dialects to reflect the informal and emotional character of the conversation. At the same time, S. serves to characterize a person, who is using it. to go crackers= to go mad; to belt up= to shut up; big head= boaster). S. words are more emphatic & emotive if compared with their neutral syn-s.

Professional & social jargonisms & their stylistic function. Jargon is a recognized term for a group of words that exist in almost every language and whose aim is to preserve secrecy within one or another social group. (grease=money; loaf= head). Jargonisms are social in character. In Br. and in the USA almost any social group of people has its own jargon. The jargon of thieves, jazz people, military people, sports, actors. Jargon:1)social;2)professional. Soc. J. is used by a partic. soc.classes &groups to conceal the subject of their conversation. Groups to give new, more expressive names to tools, processes & notions connected with the given occupation. Professionals may be regarded as colloquial synonyms to terms, but the difference lies in the fact that terms are supposed to be known to a wider audience & they have no emotional colouring.(‘tinned fish’-submarine). Dialectal words are those which in the process of integration of the English national language remained beyond its literary boundaries, and their use is generally confined to a definite locality. Some dialectal words are universally accepted as recognized units of the standard colloquial English. (lad= a young man). Although, etymologically they may have sprung the peculiarities of certain dialects. (e.g. hinny=honey, titty=sister). D. words create a realistic background (loc. colouring) when used in a novel. They show from which place the person came, characterize him through the speech & mostly used in emotive prose. (e.g. maister=master, weel=wheel,enengh=enough).

2. Metaphor – is a stylistic device based on interaction between the logical and contextual meaning of the word which is based on likeness b/n objects and implies analogy and comparison b/n them. * Money burn a hole in my pocket. In metaphor the author reveals his emotional attitude towards the described. It also makes author thoughts more concrete definite and clear. Varieties – personification: abstract ideas or objects are identified with person.*Mother Nature always blushes before disrobing. Animalification – abstract ideas or inanimated objects are identified with the bists.* Words, words, words how they gallop.

Metonymy – a device in which the name of a thing is replaced by the name of an associated thing. If metaphor is based on resemblance, metonymy reflects the actually existing relation.*Night was a friend. Types:1) synecdoche –close relations between parts and the whole *No eye to see, no ear to listen.2) interaction between the instrument and the action it performs. *His pen is rather sharp. The sward is the worst argument to be used, so let it be the last.3) between the article of clothing and a person wearing it. E.g. the bonnet and dress near the top of the square.5) between the symbol and the thing it denotes. E.g. the marble spoke. M. is used to achieve concreteness of description by giving a specific detail, connected with the phenomenon. Irony is a stylistic device also based on the simultaneous realization of two opposite meanings - logical and contextual. One thing is said and the other opposite is implied, e.g. nice weather, isn't it? (on a rainy day).

Antonomasia is the result of interaction between logical and nominal meaning of a word. 2 types:1) When the proper name of a person, who is famous for some reasons, is put for a person having the same feature. It describes person’s features and qualities through commonly associated with the name of a historical figure or a mythological or literary character.

*Her husband is an Othello.2) A common noun is used instead of a proper name, * I agree with you Mr. Logic. Some of the 1^st have lost their original expression and the nominal meaning. E.g. sandwich, mackintosh, hooligan. A. is often used to create a humorous effect (Mr. Know-all).

Oxymoron is a combination of two words, expressing ideas opposite in sense. It is a result of interaction between logical and emotive meanings. Oxymoron is a loanword from Greek oxy ("sharp") and moros ("dull"). Thus the word oxymoron is itself an oxymoron. Oxymoron is used intentionally, for rhetorical effect.* speaking silence, cold fire, living death, pleasantly ugly face, a low skyscraper, sweet sorrow

Ox-n is often met within simile (figurative comparison). (He was gentle as hell).Close to oxymoronis paradox - a statement that is absurd on the surface (e.g. War is peace. The worse - the better.)

Hyperbole (overstatement) - a stylistic device in which emphasis is achieved through deliberate exaggeration, relies on the foregrounding of the emotive meaning. The feelings and emotions of the speaker are so raffled that he resorts in his speech to intensifying the quantitative or the qualitative aspect of the mentioned object. H is one of the most common expressive means of our everyday speech (I told you thousand times about it). When it is directed the opposite way, when the size, shape, dimensions, characteristic features of the object are intentionally underrated, we deal with understatement (I haven’t slept a wink). Some hyperboles and understatements have become fixed (haven’t seen you for ages.

Zeugma and pun. A word is judged to be polysemantic. There exists a stylistic device, based on the polysemy. Zeugma – simultaneous realization of 1 polysemantic word within a short context. Zeugma is the use of a word in the same grammatical but different semantic relations to two adjacent words in the context. * the boys took their places and their books. ) Here we face the blending of 2/more semantically incompatible w-groups, having an identical lexical item, make a single construction in which this item is used once. The resulting effect is strongly humorous/ ironical. The pun is another S.D. based on the interaction of two well-known meanings of a word or a phrase. The difference: zeugma is the realization of two meanings with the help of a verb which is made to refer to different subjects or objects (direct and indirect). The pun is more independent. Pun can be as large as a whole work of emotive prose.

*The difference between the school muster and engine is that one trains the mind and the other minds the train.

Simile is an imaginative comparison of two unlike objects belonging to two different classes. The one which is compared is called the tenor, the one with which it is compared, is called the vehicle. The t+v form the 2 semantic poles of the s, which are connected by one of the following link words like, as, as though, as like, such as, as...as. S shouldn’t be confused with simple (logical, ordinary) comparison. Structurally identical they are semantically different: objects belonging to the same class are likened in a simple comparison, in a s we deal with objects belonging to two different classes. So, "She is like her mother" is a simple comparison, "She is like a rose" is a s used for purposes of expressive evaluation, emotive explanation, highly individual description. The stylistic function of s is to interpret the object by comparing it with other objects at entirely different nature.There are traditional s which illustrate national specific particular world view (as busy as a bee, to work like a horse, playful as a kitten).

3. Syntax deals with the arrangement of words into combinations. Theoret-lly a sent-ce can be of any length, but psycholog-lly no reader can receive info where a stop comes after 128 words. Groups of syntactic.devices: 1.dev-s used within a sent-ce, 2.dev-s used within an utterance, 3.dev-s based on special use of connection b/w sent-ces & phrases.

Dev-s used within a sent-ce:

1-based on juxtaposition

a)inversion-the violation of tradit-l word order which doesn’t alter the men-g of the sent-ce, but gives it an addit/emotional colouring.In-on is used 2 single out parts of the sen-ce & heighten the emot-l tension.* rude am I in my speech.

b)isolated members of a s-ce(detachment)(based on singling out a secondary member of the s-ce with the help of inton-n & punct-n. The word order isn’t violated,but second members obtain there own stress & inton-n as they are detached from the rest of the s-ce. I have to beg u for money. Daily. Detachment is used to give prominence to some words to help the author laconically draw the reader’s attention to a certain detail.

2)styl. use f the peculiarities of oral speech: ellipses - Omission of some part of a s-ce. It may occur due to a careless informal, careless char-r of speech.(Serve him right)El-s not only makes the s-ces laconic, but also creates the effect of implication. Aposiopesis(умолч-е)A sudden break in speech,caused by strong emotion or by some reluctance to finish the s-ce. Break is a result of speaker’s uncertainty as to what exactly he is threaten. Is graphically marked by a series of dots or a dash. Good impatience, but -

Stylistic devices used within an ut-ce:

1)d. based on repetition(the recurrence of the same word, w.-comb-n, phrase for 2 or more times (anaphora(a..,a…), epiphora(…a,…a), framing(a…,…a), catch rep-n(…a,a…), chain r-n(…a,a…b,b…c), ordinary r-n(has no cetain place …a,a,a…), successive r-n(a steam of closely fol-ing each other repeated units.*On her father’s being groundlessly suspective she felt sure,sure,sure).Stylistic f-n of r-n is to emphasize the most imp part of the ut-ce. Stylistic functions: to emphasize the important information, reflect the emotions of the speaker, to show durability of an action, to add rhythm and balance to the utterance.There r some d-s based on r-n of some idea(synonymical r-n):1)pleonasm(the use of more words in the s-ce then necessary to express the m-g),2)tautology-the r-n(the r-n of the same word/phrase or the same idea or statement in other words often in dif. gram.forms).

2)Devices based on parallelism. Parallel constructions are formed by the same syntactical pattern closely following one another. Par. c-s effect the rhythmical org-n of the paragraph.It is widely used in oratorical speech. 2 types of parallelism: a) complete(the str-re of the whole sent-ce is repeated),b)partial(some parts of the successive s-ces/clauses are repeated)

- the reversed parallel constr-n(chiasmus)(I know the world the world knows me).

Periphrasis. P is a word-combination which is used instead of the word describing an object. the fair sex –прекрасный пол, my better half – my wife). Types:

Figurative, Logical,Euphemistic. The main function of periphrases is to convey a purely individual perception of the described object.

Rhetorical ?-s ( not supposed 2 be answered, since the only answer is implied within the boundaries of the &-n. They r often used in the «–« form. Have I not suffered things 2 be forgiven? They are very emphatic& widely used in oratorical style(style of public speak-g). *what have I done to deserve it? What shall I do when? Such forms r further stressed by exclam-n alongside with interrogation marks.

Litotes - a statement in the form of a double negation, where 2 word are joined to give a «+» evaluation. E.g. not unkindly means kindly, thus the « +» effect is weakend. The str-re of L. is rigid. Besides the not there is a 2^nd element negative in form or in m-g, Sometimes L. is used to create the effect of irony, but the main its function is 2 make the statement less categoric.

Stylistic devices based on special arrangement of the parts of an utterance: Climax(gradation) a structure in which every successive s-ce is emotionally stronger or log-ly more import. Than the preceding one.E.g. For that one instant there was none else in the room, in the house, in the world besides themselves. 3 types of climax- quantative, qualative(emotive),logical(every new concept is stronger, more imp. & valued). Anti-climax- emotion or logical importance is accumulated only to be unexpectedly broken & brought 2 a sudden cadence).This was appaling & soon forgot. 2. Suspense (обманутое ожидание) a deliberate slowing down of a thought postponing its completion till the end of the utter-ce. To hold the reader in suspense means to keep the final solution just out of the sight. Detective adventure stories-examples of suspense fiction. 3. Antithesis a styl. Device presenting 2 contrasting ideas in close neighborhood. Syn-lly it’s another case of parallelism but unlike p-sm which is indiffer-t 2 the semantics, the 2 parts of A. must be semantically opposite 2 each other. Its styl. fun-n is 2 create the effect of contrast.

4. onomatopoeia – sound imitation, a combination of speech sounds which aims an imitating sounds produced by nature, by things, animals. Types: direct – imitate natural sounds(ding-dong); indirect – aim is to make the sound of an utterance an echo of its sense – smt called “echowriting”.

Alliteration – the repetition of the consonants usually at the beginning of words, used in poetry, smt in emotive prose * as blind as a bat.

Assonance – the repetition of the similar vowel usually in stressed syllables in close sequence. They both may produce the effect of euphony – a sense of ease and comfort, a pleasing acoustic effect; or the cacophony – effect of discomfort.

The intentional violation of the graphical shape of the word or word combination used to reflect its authentic pronunciation is called a graphon. Functions: - means of supplying information about speaker’s origin, social and education background. – good at conveying atmosphere of authentic life communication.* wonna, gotta. Sometimes it conveys the intensity of the stress, emphasizing the stressed words. To such means we refer: italics, capitalization, spacing of graphemes (hyphenation, multiplication) and of lines. A special trend – graphical imagism – *the whole poem is written in the form of a bird. All these means aimed at revealing and emphasizing the author’s viewpoint.

Rhyme(рифма) – one of the most important properties of poetry, the repetition of the same sound identical or similar usually at the end of 2 or more lines. Types: full or complete ( I – sky); incomplete (fresh – press); compound (spirit - near); eye rhyme (love-prove); masculine; feminine (error - terror). The rhyming pattern are shown with the help of letters -1)caplet (aabb), 2)triple rhyme (one stressed + 2 unstressed), 3)cross-rhyme or quatrain (abab), 4) framing (abba), 5) internal. Functions – to signalize the end of the a line, the end receives greater prominence.

Rhythm is created by regular recurrence of stressed and unstressed syllables of equal poetic lines. The regular alteration of stressed and unstressed syllables form a unit – the foot. 5 basic metrical feet:

• iambus – the 2^nd is stressed из двух.

• Trochee – the first is stresses из двух.

• Dactyl – 1 из 3,

• Amphibrach – 2 из 3,

• Anapest – 3 из трех.

The repetition of the units of the feet makes line. The length of the line usually indicated in Greek terms – diameter, trimeter, tetrameter… Petrarchian and Shakespearen sonnets are written in iambic pentameter, 14 lines – ABABCDCDEFEFGG. Ballads were written in iambic tetrameter.

5. A functional style-a system of coordinated,interrelated lang. means which fulfil a definite aim in communication. Classification: 1.official- all kinds of off.docs&papers. 2. scientific-academic publications, brochures. 3.publicist-essay, public speeches.4.newspaper-info material printed in newspapers.5.belles-letters-embraces numerous genres of creative writing; fulfils aesthetic function. Each style has oral&written forms.

The style of scientific prose has 3 subdivisions: 1) the style of humanitarian sciences; 2) the style of "exact" sciences; 3) the style of popular scientific prose. Its function is to work out and ground theoretically objective knowledge about reality. The aim of communication is to create new concepts, disclose the international laws of existence.The peculiarities are: objectiveness; logical coherence, impersonality, unemotional character, exactness. The abundant use of terms and words used to express a specialized concept in a given branch of science. Grammar: The logical presentation and cohesion of thought manifests itself in a developed feature of scientific syntax is the use of established patterns:- Postulatory;- Formulative;- Argumentative;

The impersonal and objective character of scientific prose style is revealed in the frequent use of passive constructions, impersonal sentences. Some features are:- use of quotations and references;- use of foot-notes helps to preserve the logical coherence of ideas. Scientific popular style has the following peculiarities: emotive words, elements of colloquial style.

The newspaper style. we mean informative materials, characteristic of newspaper only and not found in other publications. To attract the reader's attention to the news, special graphical means are used. British and American papers are notorious for the change of type, specific headlines, space ordering, etc. We find here a large proportion of dates and personal names of countries, territories, institutions, individuals. To achieve the effect of objectivity and impartiality in rendering some fact or event, most of the newspaper information is published anonymously. Basic newspaper features: 1) brief news items; 2) advertisements and announcements; 3) headlines;

Brief items: its function is to inform the reader. It states only facts without giving comments. The vocabulary used is neutral and common literary. Specific features are: a) special political and economic terms; b) non-term political vocabulary; c) newspaper cliches; d) abbreviations; e) neologisms.

Headlines. The main function is to inform the reader briefly of what the news is to follow about. Syntactically headlines are very short sentences, interrogative sentences, nominative sentences, elliptical sentences, sentences with articles omitted, headlines including direct speech. Advertisements and announcements. The function of advertisements and announcements is to inform the reader. There are two types of them: classified and non-classified. In classified the information is arranged according to the subject matter: births, marriages, deaths, business offers, personal etc.

7. The style of official documents:1) Language of business letters; 2) Language of legal documents; 3) Language of diplomacy; 4) Language of military documents. The aim: to reach agreement between two contracting parties; to state the conditions binding two parties in an understanding. The documents use set expressions inherited from eariy Viciorian period. This vocabulary is conservative. Legal documents contain a large proportion of formal and archaic words used in their dictionary meaning. There are a lot of abbreviations and conventional symbols. The most noticable feature of grammar is the compositional pattern. Every document has its own stereotyped form. The form itself is informative and tells you with what kind of letter we deal with.

Main peculiarities of the publicist style.The major functions of the publicist style: social influence and public opinion manipulation; informative function. Additional functions: propaganda, popularization, education, organiziation, analysis and criticism, hedonism (entertainment). Stylistic features of the publicist style: interchange of standard and expressiveness, explicit evaluation, impressive character, advertising, mass, group social orientation, abundance of statistics, toponymic and proper names, factual data), neutral or formal manner of presentation, generalization, the use of arguments, multi-stylistic character. Substyles and genres: publicist style proper articles, essays, sketches, interview, reportage…/, oratory /speeches, parliamentary debates. New publicist genres: talk-show, reality-show, role-play show, game-show, debates.

The belles-lettres style, or the style of imaginative literature may be called the richest register of communication: besides its own language means which are not used in any other sphere of communication, belles-lettres style makes ample use of other styles too, the belles-lettres style has a unique task to impress the reader aesthetically. The belles-lettres style is a generic term for 3 substyles:1. the language of poetry or simply verse;2. emotive prose, or the language of fiction;3. the language of the drama.

The purpose of the belles-lettres style is to suggest a possible interpretation of the phenomena of life by forcing the reader to see the viewpoint of the writer. This is the cognitive function of the belles-lettres style. The use of words in contextual meaning. a) Language of poetry. The first substyle is verse. Its first differentiating property is its orderly form, which is based mainly on the rhythmic and phonetic arrangement of the utterances. The poetic words and phrases, peculiar syntactical arrangement, orderly phonetic and rhythmical patterns have long been the signals of poetic language. b) The substyle of emotive prose has the same common features as has for the belles-lettres style in general; The imagery is not so rich as it is in poetry; the percentage of words with contextual meanings is not so high as in poetry; Emotive prose allows the use of elements from other styles as well. c) Language of the drama. the language of plays is entirely dialogue. The degree to which the spoken language is made literary varies at different periods in the development of drama and depends also on the idiosyncrasies of the playwright himself.

1. Germanic languages belong to a vast Indo-European family of languages. Dutch and Frisian are spoken in the Netherlands and Denmark; Norwegian in Norway, Yiddish is spoken in Israel, English in the UK, Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zeeland, South Africa, India, etc. In the 1 century AD G. L. were spoken only in Germany and its surrounding territories as well as Scandinavia. According to the dialectal differences G. L. are classified into:

-North (Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese)

-West (High/Low German, Dutch, Frisian, English, Yiddish, Afrikaans)

-East (Gothic, Burgundian, Vangalic)

All Germanic tribes were passing through the stage of developing called barbarism. According to the Plyny Germanic tribes in the 1 century AD consisted of 5 groups:

-the Vindili (the Goths, the Burgundians, spoke East G.L.)

-the Ingevones (North-western Germ. territ., North Sea)

-the Istveons (the western part, the shores of Rhein)

-the Hermones (the southern part)

-the Hillavions (inhabited Scandinavia, spoke northern G. L.)

The origin of the English Language

It is the story of 3 invasions and the Cultural Revolution. The language was brought to Britain by Germanic tribes like Angles, Saxons and Jutes(they conquered Britain in the 3 century). The English language originated from Anglo-Frisian dialect, which made part of the West Germanic group. In 55 BC began the Roman invasions under Julius Caesar. But permanent conquest of Britain began in 43 AD under Emperor Claudius. They colonized the country and established a great number of military camps which later on developed into English cities. Britain became roman profits. Latin spread over the country and countryside. In the mid 5 century AD started the A-S conquest, when Britain was invaded by Germanic tribes. The Britains fought against the conquers for 1, 5 century. The legendary figure of King Arthur belongs to that period. The Angles occupied the north of the Thames, the Saxons- south of the Themes, the Jutes- Kent. Anglii and Anglia appeared in the language. Gradually the invaders were called Anglecunes, their language- Englisc. By the year 1000 AD the country was known as England. Nowadays more than 100 most common words are of A-S origin (you, the, is, drinkan, etc). In 597 AD Christianity was brought. It was a gradual and peaceful process. The Cultural Revolution brought its huge Latin vocabulary and gave English the capacity to express abstract thoughts. Church words were brought from Greek, Latin (priest, bishop, none), Hebrew (pope, Psalter, Sabbath).

In the 9 century the Norman invasion. In 878 Alfred (the king of Wessex) got a victory over the Danish King of East Anglia. He started to rebuild monasteries, schools, introduced English in education. He started to translate Latin texts into English, wrote historical chronics.

Saxon place names have endings -ham, -ing, -stoure, -sted, -ton. The Danish origin words are –by, -wick, -throe, -toft, -thwait. About 9000 words used in Modern English came from Scandinavian: get, man, mother. There were 4 principal dialects, spoken in A-S England:

-Kentish- the speech of the Sutes

-West Saxon- in the south of the Thames, the most widely spoken

-Mercian- excluding Wales

-Northumbrian – North of Umbria.

The chronological division of the history of English. The history of the English language covers over 16 centuries. There was a well-known English scholar Henry Sweet, who proposed the division according to the state of the unstressed endings.

1.OE. The period of full endings, any vowel could be found in an unstressed ending: sinзan, sunu. The OE begins in the 5 century, embracing the years 500 to1100, the time when A-S invaded Britain, where Celts lived. The earliest writings belong to the year 700 AD. The end of the period is closed to the Norman Conquest (1066).

2.Middle English. The period of leveled endings. Vowels of unstressed endings have been leveled under the neutral vowel [ә] (шва), which is represented by [e]: singen, sune. ME dates to 1100-1500 (the introduction of printing, the end of the war of roses, the dec[k]ay of feudalism.

3.Modern English – the period of lost endings: sing, son.

-Early ME (1500- until the age of Shakespeare)

-Late ME.

This division is based on both phonetic and morphological features (weakening and loss of unstressed vowel sounds and grammatical morphemes). The transition from one period to another was very gradual and slow.

2. The OE vowel system. Major changes during the period. The OE vowel system: [i e a æ o u y] each vowel could be long and short. In the course of time G V proved to be more changeable than C. Long V proved to be more changeable than short one. All the V underwent positional changes due to assimilation, the most important are: 1. I-mutation or palatal mutation: the mutation of the root, back or open V to a front one by a following i/j, ex.: kopjan (o-open) changed into cepan. 2. In dialects there is happened OE breaking: it is diphthongization of short V before certain C clusters. It is the V a, e which changed into ae before clusters: r, l, h + C, h-final; e into eo before r, l, h + C, h-final. 3. In the 9^th century V were lengthened (lengthening) before the clusters: nd, ld, mb, ex.: bindan-bi:ndan-bind (в первом случае Iкраткая, во втором долгая).

The Great Vowel Shift. The GVS can be regarded as a process of 2stages: 1. [i:, u:] became diphthongs and most of V showed the process of narrowing; 2. There were appeared the diphthongs [ei] into [ai] and [au] into [əu].

GVS didn’t bring about any new phonemes because all the V which were resulted from GVS were already existed, but they were found in other classes of words. The GVS didn’t add any new sounds to the V system, every V which developed under the shift can be found in late ME.

I –mutation. Long vowels proved to be more changeable than short ones. The most important change was umlaut or palatal mutation. Mutation is a change in a vowel sound brought by a sound in the following syllable. The mutation of a root back or open vowel to a front one by a following

i or j is called i-mutation. I –mutation affected all the Germanic languages but Gothic. OE stressed vowels changed into back or more narrow under the influence of i (j) in the next syllables (regressive assimilation). The result was the rise of the new phonemes y, y: but disappeared in early ME.

ǎ > e sandian – sendan(send), æ>e sætian – settan(set), ā > æ hālian – hælan (heal), ü > y fullian – fyllan (fill), dohtor – dehter (daughter)

The approximate date of the change was the 5-6^th c. They are not many in English and can be find both in word changing and word formation: man-men, louse-lice, old-elder; full-fill, stong-strength, tale-tell, food-feed.

Extensive changes of vowels are one of the most remarkable features of English linguistic history. In OE the number of vowels in unstressed position reduced. In unaccented syllables long vowels were shortened & the opposition of long-short was neutralized. In ME & NE the direct of the evolution was the same as before. The tendency towards phonetic reduction operated in all the periods of history. In OE 5 short vowels were distinguished in unstressed position e/I, a. o/u. LME had only 2 vowels in unaccented syllables: ə, i, This means that phonemic contrasts were had been practically lost. The vowels ə and i is an important mark of the ME period which distinguished from OE with its great variety of unstressed vowels and from the NE when the [ə] was dropped. The loss of the final ə started in the North, spread to the Midlands and reached the Southern areas by the 15^thc. In the London dialect of Chaucer’s time it was very unstable and could be easily missed out before a following initial vowel or when required by rhythm. The [e] was understood as a means of showing the length of the vowel in the preceding syllable and was added to words that didn’t have it before-^OEstan-^MEstoon-^NEstone; ^OErad-^MErode-^NErode. While the OE unstressed vowels were thus reduced & lost, new unstressed appeared in borrowed words or developed from stressed ones, as a result of various changes: the shifting of word stress, vocalisation of [r] in the endings as writer, actor, where er and or became [ə]. Some of the new unstressed vowels were reduced to the neutral [ə] or dropped, while others retained certain qualitative & quantitative differences.