Seminar 7 modern english word-stock

1. The English word-stock as a system.

2. The main criteria of describing the English word-stock:

   1. the process of constant development (neologisms and occasionalisms vs. archaisms, historisms, and obsolete words);

   2. difference in social necessity (active vs. passive vocabulary);

   3. the existence of the two forms of the language (written vs. spoken);

   4. stylistic reference (stylistically neutral vs. stylistically marked words);

   5. the source (native vs. borrowed, or loan-words);

   6. connotation (emotionally neutral vs. emotionally coloured; evaluatory vs. non-evaluatory words);

   7. semantic relations between words (polysemantic words, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, hyponyms, hyperonyms);

   8. morphological grouping (root words vs. derivatives, compound words, compound derivatives);

   9. role in utterance (notional words vs. form-words).

Glossary Terms:

neologism; occasionalism; archaism; historism; obsolete word; native word; borrowed word (loan-word); hyponym; hyperonym; notional word; form-word.

Suggested Readings

1. The Lectures.

2. Арнольд И. В. The English Word. — 3-е изд. — М.: Высш. шк., 1986. — С. 216 — 261.

Practical Home Assignment: cards with examples.

Class Assignment:

Presentation of Independent Study Projects.

Final test

Card 1

I. Define the following terms and provide examples to illustrate them: structure of meaning; back formation.

II. Answer the theoretical question:

Imagery, motivation, and inner form of phraseological units.

III. Define the leading lexical phenomenon on which the joke, poem, or quotation is based. Use the cards for quizzes to record your answers.

1. Caller: “I wonder if I can see your mother, little boy. Is she engaged?”

Boy: “Engaged! She’s married.”

2. Does a doctor doctor a doctor according to the doctored doctor’s doctrine or doctoring, or does the doctor doing the doctrine doctor according to his own doctoring doctrine? (Type of word-formation).

3. “My daughter has arranger a little piece for the piano.”

“Good. It’s about time we had a little peace.”

4. Hopeless Widower: Nothing can mend a broken heart.

Hopeful Widow: Except re-pairing. (Type of word-formation).

5. An aviator and an infantryman were watching the city from the viewing platform on the roof of a very high sky-scraper. Admiring the view the infantryman exclaimed: “Spring!”

“But I haven’t got my parachute on,” objected the aviator.

Card 2

I. Define the following terms and provide examples to illustrate them: ideographic synonyms; metaphor.

II. Answer the theoretical question:

Regional varieties of the English language.

III. Define the leading lexical phenomenon on which the joke, poem, or quotation is based. Use the cards for quizzes to record your answers.

1. A girl may love you from the bottom of her heart, but there’s always room for some other guy at the top.

2. A man who is always asking for a loan is always left alone.

3. A popular bachelor decided to reform. The first day he cut out cigarettes. the second day he cut out drink. The third day he cut out women. The fourth day he cut out paper dolls.

4. Two men, who were visiting a museum, were seen standing in front of an Egyptian mummy over which hung a placard bearing an inscription : “B.C. 1187.”

“What do you make of that, Jim?”

“Well, I dunno, but maybe it was the number of the motor car that killed him.” (Type of word-formation).

5. Heated

Two soldiers were discussing their experience in service in cold climate areas. “Yes,” said one, “at one point we really froze to death during one field exercise.”

“Oh, how dreadful,” commented the other. “Who saved you?

“Well, we got into a heated discussion,” was the reply.

(Type of transference of meaning).

Card 3

I. Define the following terms and provide examples to illustrate them: split polysemy; shift of stress.

II. Answer the theoretical question:

The main types of dictionaries.

III. Define the leading lexical phenomenon on which the joke, poem, or quotation is based. Use the cards for quizzes to record your answers.

1. Telling of a member expelled from her club, a woman said:

“They dismembered her.“ (Type of word-formation).

2. “Waiter.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s bean soup, sir.”

“No matter what it’s been. What is it now?”

3. And then there are cynics who claim that movies would be better if they shot less films and more actors.

4. It’s known even to a non-linguist that in the U.S. Army sergeants do not talk or speak — they bark, roar, below, snap, snarl, growl, etc.

5. Dream Land

Her son was on overseas duty with address: Fleet Post Office, New York, commonly abbreviated as FPO, NY. She wrote: “My son, I guess you are in a beautiful oriental country with such an exotic name FPO, NY. Is it in Japan?” (Type of word-formation).

Card 4

I. Define the following terms and provide examples to illustrate them: derivational compounding; contextual synonyms.

II. Answer the theoretical question:

Origin of English phraseological units.

III. Define the leading lexical phenomenon on which the joke, poem, or quotation is based. Use the cards for quizzes to record your answers.

1. An electrical technician asked the store-keeper: “Do you have any

four-volt, two-watt bulbs?”

“For what?”

“No, two.”

“Two, what?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

2. “Unmarried?” asked the census taker.

“Oh, dear, no,” replied the prom little lady blushing. “I’ve never even been married.” (Type of word-formation).

3. Fly—flew—flown

An aviator: “I’ve finished six weeks in hospital.”

His friend: “Really? Flue, I suppose?”

Aviator: “Yes, and crashed as well.”

4. “What is your daughter working for at college — an M. A.?”

“No, an M-R-S.” (Type of word-formation).

5. Missed

Two soldiers were talking about their wives. “Does your wife miss you much?” asked one.

“No, she throws remarkably straight for a woman.”

Card 5

I. Define the following terms and provide examples to illustrate them: semantic structure of the word; conversion.

II. Answer the theoretical question:

Polysemy and homonymy: criteria of differentiation.

III. Define the leading lexical phenomenon on which the joke, poem, or quotation is based. Use the cards for quizzes to record your answers.

1. “What is the difference between an engine-driver and a schoolmaster?”

“One minds the train, and the other trains the mind.”

2. “What’s frozen water?”

“Ice.”

“What’s frozen cream?”

“Ice-cream.”

“What’s frozen tea?”

“Iced tea.”

“What’s frozen ink?”

“Iced ink.” (cf. I stink).

“Well, have a bath then!”

3. He (in the telephone booth): “I want a box for two.”

Voice (at the other end): “Sorry, but we don’t have boxes for two.”

He: “But aren’t you the box office of the theater?”

Voice: “No, we are the undertakers.”

4. A doctor fell in a well,

And broke his collarbone,

The doctor should attend the sick

And leave the well alone.

5. A recruiting poster said: “The Army Needs L.S.M.F.T. Men.”

A boy asked the recruiting officer what was meant by this.

“All men will do: long, short, medium, fat and thin.”

(Type of word-formation).

Card 6

I. Define the following terms and provide examples to illustrate them: seme; reduplication.

II. Answer the theoretical question:

Interrelation of synonyms and antonyms.

III. Define the leading lexical phenomenon on which the joke, poem, or quotation is based. Use the cards for quizzes to record your answers.

1. Dream Land

Her son was on overseas duty with address: Fleet Post Office, New York, commonly abbreviated as FPO, NY. She wrote: “My son, I guess you are in a beautiful oriental country with such an exotic name FPO, NY. Is it in Japan?” (Type of word formation).

2. A girl may love you from the bottom of her heart, but there’s always room for some other guy at the top.

3. “What flowers grow under your nose?”

“Tulips.” (cf. two lips).

4. “What model is this car?”

“It’s not a model. It’s a horrible example.”

5. “What’s gray, has four legs and a trunk?”

“A mouse going on holiday.”

Card 7

I. Define the following terms and provide examples to illustrate them: dominant synonym; metonymy.

II. Answer the theoretical question:

Minor types of word formation.

III. Define the leading lexical phenomenon on which the joke, poem, or quotation is based. Use the cards for quizzes to record your answers.

1. Maryl: “Oh, he’s so romantic. When he addresses me he always calls me ‘Fair lady’.” (cf. fare).

Belle: “Force of habit, my dear. He’s a bus conductor.”

2. “When does a goose look like a snowball?”

“When it looks round.”

3. Advertisement in a newspaper: “Lion tamer wants tamer lion.”

4. “Do you sing and play much?” a young man asked the pretty girl who was carelessly thrumming the keys of the piano.

“Only to kill time,” she replied.

You’ve got a fine weapon, I must admit,” said the young man.

(Type of transference of meaning).

5. Political Speaker: “I’m pleased to see such a dense crowd here tonight.”

Voice: “Don’t be too pleased. We ain’t all dense.”

Card 8

I. Define the following terms and provide examples to illustrate them: hyponym; acronym.

II. Answer the theoretical question:

Shortening as a type of word-formation.

III. Define the leading lexical phenomenon on which the joke, poem, or quotation is based. Use the cards for quizzes to record your answers.

1. “My uncle William has a new cedar chest.”

“So! Last time I saw him he just had a wooden leg.”

2. Real Estate Agent: “Now, there is a house without a flaw!”

Customer: “My gosh! What do you walk on?”

3. The way to better your lot is to do a lot better.

4. “I have a hair-raising story.”

“Tell it to some baldheaded man.” (Type of word-formation).

4. You have also become a very beautiful young woman, and that brings all sorts of difficulties in its wake.” <…>

“Do you really mean,” she asked in a tone of voice that sounded incredulous, “that I am pretty?”

“I said ‘beautiful’, and I meant beautiful!” the Marquis affirmed. “The two words are very different.” (P. La Mure).

Card 9

I. Define the following terms and provide examples to illustrate them: split polysemy; shift of stress.

II. Answer the theoretical question:

Word-composition as a type of word-formation.

III. Define the leading lexical phenomenon on which the joke, poem, or quotation is based. Use the cards for quizzes to record your answers.

1. What is that which has eyes yet never sees? (A potato).

2. “Unmarried?” asked the census taker.

“Oh, dear, no,” replied the prom little lady blushing.

“I’ve never even been married.” (Type of word-formation).

3. “How can you make a tall man short?”

“Borrow ten dollars of him.”

4. Kitty: “Is your wound sore, Mr. Pup?”

Mr. Pup: “Wound! What wound?”

Kitty: “Why, sister said she cut you at the dinner last night!”

4. “I got sick yesterday eating eggs.”

“Too bad.”

“No, only one.”

Card 10

I. Define the following terms and provide examples to illustrate them: hyperonym; onomatopoeia.

II. Answer the theoretical question:

Homonymy and its sources.

III. Define the leading lexical phenomenon on which the joke, poem, or quotation is based. Use the cards for quizzes to record your answers.

1. Traffic Cop: “Now, Miss, what gear were you in at the time of the accident?”

Demure Miss: “Oh, I had on a black beret, tan shoes, and a tweed sports dress.”

2. “What’s the difference between a cat and a comma?”

“A cat has its claws at the end of its paws, a comma its pause at the end of a clause.”

3. “What did the big telephone say to the little telephone?”

“You’re too young to be engaged.”

4. “Why should Alice invite that horrid grass-widow to her wedding? She has such a disagreeable past.”

“Yes, my dear, but she’s rich enough to furnish a very agreeable present.”

5. Customer: “Waiter, this soup is spoiled.”

Waiter: “Who told you?”

Customer: “A little swallow.”