The Main Semantic Processes
Extension of meaning means extension of the word range. In most cases it is naturally combined with a higher degree of abstraction than implied in the earlier meaning of the word.
Most words begin as specific names for things. however, this precise denotation is lost ant the meaning of the word gets extended and generalised.
e.g.: Season once had the meaning spring, time for sowing. Now it embraces all parts of the year.
Salary once had the meaning the money to buy salt for. Now it means money to buy anything.
Thing once meant anything that can be agreed on in trade. Now it has a generic meaning.
Town once meant fence. Now it denotes a settlement.
Arrive once meant to land, to reach the shore. Now any place of destination is presupposed.
Free once meant dear. Then according to the process of generalisation it acquired the meaning free. At first it was used in regard to someone from the family of a slave-owner, who he loved and respected. Then it was applied to any relative of a slave-owner. The opposition – free and slave – brought to the extension and change of meaning of the word.
Стріляти meant випускати стрілу. Now it is used in a broader sense.
Столяр meant той, що виготовляє столи. Now it means той, хто виготовляє вироби з дерева.
Поле meant порожній великий простір. Now it means ділянка землі відведена під що-небудь, простір, у межах якого відбувається якась дія, сфера діяльності, смужка вздовж краю аркуша паперу, відігнуті краї капелюха.
Narrowing of meaning is the process when a word acquires a specialised sense in which it is applicable only to some of the objects it had previously denoted or a word of wide usage is restricted in its application and comes to be used only in a special sense.
e.g.: In Shakespeare’s „King Lear“ there is a reference made to mice and rats and such small deer. In Old English deer meant any beast.
Coffin once meant a box. Then it began to mean a special box for the dead.
These are the cases in which narrowing took place due to the concretization of meaning. Sometimes narrowing takes place due to the differentiation of concepts. This is the case when two words were synonyms once and then they acquired different meanings.
e.g.: Stool once meant табурет і стілець. After the word chair was borrowed from French, the word stool began to be used only for табурет.
Attributes when used continuously with a word may lead to the narrowing of meaning: corn (Indian corn), private (private soldier).
Narrowing can take place when the name of the material is transferred onto the thing made of this material: iron, kids.
It is a well-known fact that people tend to specialise and thus to narrow the meanings of words connected with their special activities.
e.g.: The word operation(операція) has quite different meanings to a financial worker, to a mathematician, to a military man and to a physician.
Печиво meant усе спечене з борошна. Now it means кондитерські вироби з борошна.
Квас meant усе кисле. Now the word means кислуватий напій з житнього хліба або житнього борошна.
Elevation of meaning presupposes the following thing. Words often rise from humble beginnings to positions of greater importance. Such changes are not always easy to account for in detail, but, on the whole, we may say that social changes are of the very first importance with words that acquire better meanings.
Some highly complimentary words were originally applied to things of comparatively slight importance.
e.g.: Fame meant news (good or bad). Now it means glory.
Nice meant foolish. The word was gradually specialised in the sense foolishly particular about trifles. Then the idea of folly was lost and particular about small things, accurate came into existence.
To adore had the meaning to speak with, to greet, to address. Now it means to love, to worship.
The words офіс, менеджмент, кур’єр are considered to have better meanings than контора, управління, посильний.
Degradation of meaning is the process whereby for one reason or another a word falls into disrepute. Words once respectable may become less respectable. Some words reach such a low point that it is considered improper to use them at all.
e.g.: Idiot meant private in Greek and uneducated in Latin. Now it has a negative meaning of a fool in both languages.
Greedy meant hungry. Now it means stingy.
Villain meant a person living in the country. Now it means a scoundrel.
Metaphor is a transfer of name based on the association of similarity and thus is actually a hidden comparison. It presents a method of description which likens one thing to another by referring to it as if it were some other one. In actual usage the motivation of the word meaning may be obscured or completely lost. The latter leads to the development of the so-called fossilised or trite metaphors by origin. Fossilised metaphors belong to the vocabulary of a given language as a system. In such cases the connection between the original and transferred word meaning is lost. Such transpositions may lead to a complete semantic change of a word, wherein the secondary figuratively derived meaning becomes, in fact, primary. The word metaphor itself is a metaphor, meaning to carry over, across a term or expression from its normal usage to another.
Metaphors may be created on the similarity of different physical properties, such as:
- similarity of shape : needle’s eye, table’s leg; вушко голки, павутина доріг;
- similarity of size: midget, elephantine; карликовий;
- similarity of colour: orange, violet; трояндовий, бузковий;
- similarity of function: hand, finger-post; рушниця стріляє, металеве перо;
- similarity of position: back of the chair, foot of the mountain; підніжжя гори;
- similarity of firmness: egg-shell china, steel resolution; метал у голосі.
It must be borne in mind that linguistic metaphor is different from metaphor as a literary device. When the latter is offered and accepted both the author and the reader are to a greater or lesser degree aware that this reference is figurative, that the object has another name. The relationship of the direct denotative meaning of the word and the meaning it has in the literary context in question is based on the similarity of some features in the objects compared. The poetic metaphor is the result of the author’s creative imagination. In a linguistic metaphor, especially if it is dead as a result of long usage, the thing named often has no other name. In a dead metaphor the comparison is completely forgotten. The meaning of such expressions as a sun beam or beam of light are not explained by allusions to a tree, although the word is actually derived from Old English beam (tree).
One can speak of different degrees of deadness as it were taking for illustration such metaphors as to ruminate (to think), originally applied to a cow’s cud chewing or, say, such metaphors as time flies, a cold look which are quite faded. Such adjective metaphors as orange, violet are no longer felt as figurative.
Metonymy is a device in which the name of one thing is changed for that of another to which it is related by association of ideas as having close relationship to one another. The simplest case of metonymy is synecdoche. Synecdoche means giving a part for the whole or vice versa.
e.g.: foot (infantry), town may be applied to the inhabitants of it. The word violin is often used to denote not the instrument but the musician who plays it.
In the Ukrainian language the examples of synecdoche can be represented by the following examples: носа не показувати, роботящі руки, білява куделя оглянулася.
Faded metonymy can be found in the political vocabulary when the place of some establishment is used not only for the establishment itself or its staff but also for its policy: the White House, the Pentagon, Інститут святкує своє десятиріччя.
Other examples of metonymy include:
1. The sign for the thing signified: grey hair (old age).
2. The instrument for the agent: the best pens of the day (the best writers).
Він – перша скрипка.
3. The container for the thing contained: He drank a cup. Чайник закипів.
4. The names of various organs can be used in the same way: head can be used for brains; heart often stands for emotions. Honey tongue, a heart of gall.У неї золоте серце.
5. A part of species substituted for a whole or genus: He manages to earn his bread (the necessaries of life).
6. A whole or genus substitutes for a part or species: He is a poor creature (man). Він – бідне створіння.
7. The name of the material which stands for the thing made of this material: iron, kid, фарфор, фаянс.
Due to a great variety of associations there are a lot of cases where metonymy is disguised.
e.g.: sandwich is named after John Montague, earl of Sandwich, who invented this kind of meal;
champagne – a white sparkling wine made in the province of Champagne (France);
nicotine – a poisonous alkaloid which got its name after Jean Nicot, who introduced tobacco into France.
SYNONYMS. ANTONYMS. HOMONYMS.
1. Synonyms.
a) The Definition of Synonyms.
Grouping of words is based upon similarities and contrasts. Taking up similarity of meaning and contrasts of phonetic shape we observe that every language has in its vocabulary a variety of words kindred in meaning but different in morphemic composition, phonemic shape and usage. The more developed the language is, the richer the diversity and therefore the greater the possibilities of lexical choice enhancing the effectiveness and precision of speech.
Synonyms can be defined as two or more words of the same language, belonging to the same part of speech and possessing one or more identical or nearly identical denotational meanings, interchangeable at least in some contexts, without any alteration on the denotational meaning, but differing in the morphemic composition, phonemic shape, shades of meaning, connotations, affective value, style, valency and idiomatic use.
The words to annoy, to vex, to irk, to bother are synonyms. To annoy, to vex may mean both a non-intentional influence and an intentional one. To irk, to bother presuppose only the intentional influence. To annoy is a neutral word. To vex has a stronger shade. To bother presupposes the slightest reaction. The denotational meaning of all these words is the same: to make somebody a little angry by especially repeated acts. As it is seen from the example the synonymic group comprises a dominant element. This is the synonymic dominant, the most general term of its kind potentially containing the specific features rendered by all the other members of the group. Or in the Ukrainian language the word бридкий is a synonymic dominant in the synonymic row: бридкий, огидний, гидкий, потворний, осоружний, негарний.
The majority of English words are polysemantic. The result of it is that one and the same word may belong in its various meanings to several synonymic groups.
e.g.: to appear may have the synonyms, to emerge, to come into sight and to look, to seem.
b) Classifications of Synonyms.
Absolute synonyms are very rare in the language. They are mostly different names for one and the same plant, animal, disease etc.
e.g.: luce – pike, compounding – composition, castor – beaver, алфавіт – абетка, буква – літера, процент – відсоток, площа – майдан, нагідки – календула.
In the course of time absolute synonyms come to have either a different shade of meaning or different usage. If two words exactly coincide in meaning and use the natural tendency is for one of them to change its meaning or drop out of the language.
Ideographic synonyms differ from each other in shades of meaning. Synonyms of this kind are very numerous in the English language. In such synonyms we can easily find the general and the particular. The general connects such synonyms into one group, makes them representatives of one concept whereas the particular allows every synonym of the group to stress a certain feature of the concept. Thus all the synonyms express the concept in all its many-sided variety and completeness.
Not all ideographic synonyms are of the same kind. We can distinguish between those which are very close in their meanings (horrible – terrible, screech – shriek), synonyms which differ in meaning considerably. Thus, interpreter and translator denote the same concept of a person rendering the expressions of one language into the expressions of another but the oral side of the work is associated with the interpreter whereas the translator is connected with writing. Both ladder and stairs denote a set of parallel bars used for climbing up but ladder is associated with a rope contrivance or a portable device consisting of two beams crossed by a set of parallel bars while stairs represents a permanent arrangement mostly within a building, of blocks of wood or slabs of marble joined to form a long series of steps, stairway or staircase.
Among verbs we find ideographic synonyms which differ in the manner of the action expressed by the verb: to look (the synonymic dominant), to glance (to look quickly), to gaze (to look with surprise, curiosity), to stare (to look fixedly), to regard (to look attentively), to view (to look searchingly), to eye (to look from head to foot), to peep (to look stealthily).
Synonyms can differ in the degree of a given quality, in the intensity of the action performed or the intensity of the emotions: to want – to desire – to long for; to ask – to beg – to pray; to work – to toil – to slave.
Synonyms can also differ in the emotional colouring: big – great; boy – lad.
Synonyms can differ in the volume of the concept they express: border – frontier. Border is wider in meaning than frontier for the latter means mostly a state border whereas border is any limit, edge, etc. Happy is wider than lucky which implies only happy circumstances attending one’s undertakings.
There are synonyms where one expresses continuity of action or state while the other expresses a momentary action of the same nature: to speak – to say; to remember – to memorise.
Ukrainian scholars call such synonyms semantic: хата – дім – будинок, череда – отара – зграя.
Stylistic synonyms do not differ in shades of their common meaning. They differ in usage and style: doctor (official) – doc (familiar); to commence (official) – to begin (neutral). They also show the attitude of the speaker towards the event, object or process described: to die – to depart, to expire – to kick the bucket; говорити – балакати, базікати; ходити – шкандибати, дибати, пхатися, читальний зал – читалка, здібний – кмітливий.
Ukrainian scholars distinguish between semantic-stylistic synonyms: архітектор – зодчий.
Phraseological synonyms are those which do not necessarily differ materially in their meanings or stylistic value. They differ in their combinative power. Thus, in such groups as few – little, many – much we can speak not so much of any immediate difference in the meanings of words as of their difference in application (much time – little water; many children – much air). We say a sunny day, a moonlit night but we should use the solar system, a lunar eclipse.
Phraseological synonyms can replace each other in some combinations but are not interchangeable in others. Use and benefit are synonyms in such expressions as public use, public benefit whereas they are no longer synonyms and cannot replace each other in expressions like I have no use for such books, or He was given the benefit of the doubt. Перед, напередодні cease to be synonyms if they are used in the context: перед мостом, напередодні свята.
Contextual synonyms are similar in meaning only under some specific distributional conditions. The verbs to bear, to suffer and stand are semantically different and not interchangeable except when used in the negative form.
c) Sources of Synonymy.
One of the sources of synonymy is borrowings. In Modern English a great number of synonyms serve to differentiate the meanings of words, their colloquial or bookish character. Most of bookish synonyms are of foreign origin, while popular and colloquial words are mostly native. Many native synonyms were either restricted or ousted by foreign terms.
e.g.: The native word heaven has been more and more restricted to the figurative and religious use for the Danish word sky began to be used exclusively in the meaning of the blue above us though originally sky meant only cloud. The Danish word call has ousted the Old English word heitan, the French word army ousted the native word here.
Shifts of meaning can lead to the appearance of synonyms: knave and villain once were not synonyms but their meanings degradated and they became synonyms.
Shortening can result in the appearance of synonyms: advertisement – ad; examination – exam.
Conversion can be a source of synonymy: a corner – to corner.
d) Criteria of synonymy.
Notional criterion: Synonyms are words of the same category of parts of speech conveying the same notion but differing either in shades of meaning or in stylistic characteristics.
Semantic criterion: In terms of componential analysis synonyms may be defined as words with the same denotation or the same denotative component but differing in connotations or in the connotative component.
The criterion of interchangeability: Synonyms are words which are interchangeable at least in some contexts without any considerable alteration in the denotational meaning.
2. Antonyms.
a) The Definition of Antonyms.
Words with diametrically opposite meanings are called antonyms. We find antonyms among words denoting:
- quality: hard – soft; good – bad; здоровий – кволий;
- state: clean – dirty; wealth – poverty; чистий – брудний;
- manner: quickly – slowly; willingly – unwillingly; швидко – повільно;
- direction: up – down; here – there; тут – там;
- action or feeling: to smile – to frown; to love – to hate; любити – ненавидіти;
- features: tall – short; beautiful – ugly; високий – низький.
Words which do not have relative features do not have antonyms.
b) Classifications of Antonyms.
Antonyms can be divided into two groups: those which are formed with the help of negative affixes (derivational) and those which are of different roots. There are affixes in English which impart to the root the meaning of either the presence or the absence of a certain quality, property or state.
The most productive antonym-forming negative prefixes are un- (unhappy, unimportant), mis-(misfortune, misunderstanding). In the Ukrainian language that is the prefix не-(неправда, неволя). The prefix без- is also rather productive: безстрашний, безлад).
Antonym-forming suffixes impart to the word the meaning of the presence or absence of the quality or feature indicated by the root. The most productive antonym-forming suffixes are –ful,-less: fruitful – fruitless; hopeful – hopeless.
The second group (antonyms proper) includes words of different roots: day – night; rich – poor, радість – горе, дружити – ворогувати.
Considered in meaning antonyms can be divided into absolute, phraseological and complex.
Absolute antonyms are diametrically opposite in meaning and remain antonyms in any word-combinations. These are mostly found among negative affix-formed antonyms.
Phraseological antonyms. When they become components of phraseological groups or compound words they sometimes lose their absolutely antonymic nature.
e.g.: to give –to take: to give a book – to take a book but to give way will not have to take way as its antonym.
Phraseological antonyms cannot be used in parallel antonymic expressions indiscriminately. We can say The books are alike - The books are different but we cannot say an alike book though we do say a different book.
Complex antonyms are those polysemantic words that have different antipodes for their various meanings.
e.g.: Soft has such meanings as
- not hard, yielding (soft seat, soft nature);
- not loud, subdued (soft voice, soft colours);
- mild, not severe (soft climate, soft punishment).
Naturally all these meanings will find different words for antipodes:
- hard (hard seat, hard nature);
- loud, harsh (loud voice, harsh colours);
- severe (severe climate, severe punishment).
The Ukrainian word сухий can have the following antonyms: мокрий, м’який, повний, емоційний.
с) Criteria of Antonyms.
Antonyms have traditionally been defined as words of opposite meanings. This definition is not sufficiently accurate, as it only shifts the problem to the question of what words may be regarded as words of opposite meanings. Two words are considered antonyms if they are regularly contrasted in actual speech. A regular and frequent co-occurrence in such contexts is the most important characteristic feature of antonyms.
Another criterion is the possibility of substitution and identical lexical valency. Members of the same antonymic pair reveal nearly identical spheres of collocation.
e.g.: The adjective hot in its figurative meanings angry and excited is chiefly combined with unpleasant emotions (anger, scorn) . Its antonym cold occurs with the same words. But hot and cold are used in combinations with the emotionally neutral words fellow, man, but not with the nouns implying positive evaluation friend, supporter.
Antonyms form binary oppositions, the distinctive feature of which is semantic polarity; its basis is regular co-occurrence in typical contexts combined with approximate sameness of distribution and stylistic and emotional equivalence.
2. Homonyms.
a) The Definition of Homonyms.
Considering the word from the viewpoint of its semantic relations with other words we submit to our examination words having the same form but quite differing in meaning or homonyms. Saying the same form we must add that the identity of form may be complete or partial.
There are perfect homonyms, that is words having entirely different meanings but absolutely identical in spelling and sound: ball – м’яч; ball – тюлень; деркач – птах, деркач – віник; бал – вечір танців, бал - оцінка.
Partial homonyms are of two types: homographs and homophones. Homographs are words identical in spelling but different in sound and meaning: bow [bou] – bow [bau], row [rou] – row [rau], о'бід - 'обід, за'мок -'замок. Homophones are the words identical in sound but different in spelling and meaning: knight – night; piece – peace; цеглина – це глина, потри – по три.
b) Classifications of Homonyms.
From the viewpoint of their origin homonyms are divided into historical and etymological.
Historical homonyms are those which result from the breaking up of polysemy; then one polysemantic word will split up in two or more separate words.
e.g.: plant (рослина) – plant (завод); pupil (учень) – pupil (зрачок).
But sometimes it is difficult to decide whether all connection between the meanings of such words is lost and even the compilers of dictionaries hesitate how to treat such words.
Etymological homonyms are words of different etymology which come to be alike in sound or spelling. Various causes explain their appearance. Among these phonetical changes both in native and borrowed words played a great role.
e.g.: can (могти) – Old English cunnan (знати);
can (банка) – Old English canne (банка);
here (тут) – Old English her (тут);
to hear (чути) – Old English hieran (чути).
Sometimes a native word and a borrowed word coincide in form, thus producing homonyms.
e.g.: to bark (гавкати) – Old English beorcan and bark (кора дерева) from Scandinavian borkr (баркас). Or the Ukrainian word мул (дрібні частинки у водоймах) coincided with мул (назва тварини, which is a Latin word).
In other cases homonyms are a result of borrowing when several different words became identical in sound and/or in spelling.
e.g.: The Latin word vitim (wrong, an immoral habit) has given the English vice (порок), the Latin word vitis (a spiral) has given the English word vice (лещата). The Latin word vice (instead, in place) is found in vice-president.
In the Ukrainian language the word гриф (міфічна істота, which is a borrowing from Greek), гриф (частина струнного музичного інструмента, a borrowing from German), гриф (штемпель на документі,a borrowing from French).
Considering homonyms in their morphological aspect prof. Smirnitsky classifies them into lexical and lexico-grammatical. Lexical homonyms are of two types: perfect and partial. Perfect homonyms belong to the same part of speech with all forms coinciding: case (випадок) – case (сумка). Partial homonyms belong to the same part of speech but coincide only in some of their forms: to lie –lay – lain; to lie – lied – lied. Lexico-grammatical homonyms are represented by:
a) words belonging to the same part of speech but homonymic in their grammatical forms (excluding their initial forms): bore –to bore (the Past Indefinite of to bear);
b) words belonging to different parts of speech and homonymic only in some of their forms: I – to eye; nose – knows.
WORD COMBINATIONS AND PHRASEOLOGY IN MODERN ENGLISH AND UKRAINIAN LANGUAGES.
1. Free and Non-Free Word Combinations.
The vocabulary of a language includes not only words but also stable word combinations which also serve as a means of expressing concepts. They are phraseological word equivalents reproduced in speech the way words are reproduced and not created anew in actual speech.
An ordinary word combination is created according to the grammatical rules of the language in accordance with a certain idea. The general meaning of an ordinary free word combination is derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements. Every notional word functions here as a certain member of the sentence. Thus, an ordinary word combination is a syntactical pattern.
A free word combination is a combination in which any element can be substituted by another.
e.g.: I like this idea. I dislike this idea. He likes the idea. I like that idea. I like this thought.
But when we use the term free we are not precise. The freedom of a word in a combination with others is relative as it is not only the syntactical pattern that matters. There are logical limitations too.
The second group of word combinations is semi-free word combinations. They are the combinations in which the substitution is possible but limited.
e.g.: to cut a poor/funny/strange figure.
Non-free word combinations are those in which the substitution is impossible.
e.g.: to come clean, to be in low water.
2. Classifications of Phraseological Units.
A major stimulus to intensive studies of phraseology was prof. Vinogradov’s research. The classification suggested by him has been widely adopted by linguists working on other languages. The classification of phraseological units suggested by V.V. Vinogradov includes:
- standardised word combinations, i.e. phrases characterised by the limited combinative power of their components, which retain their semantic independence: to meet the request/requirement, подавати надію, страх бере, зачепити гордість, покласти край;
- phraseological unities, i.e. phrases in which the meaning of the whole is not the sum of meanings of the components but it is based on them and the motivation is apparent: to stand to one’s guns, передати куті меду, прикусити язика, вивести на чисту воду, тримати камінь за пазухою;
- fusions, i.e. phrases in which the meaning cannot be derived as a whole from the conjoined meanings of its components: tit for tat, теревені правити, піймати облизня, викинути коника, у Сірка очі позичити.
Phraseological unities are very often metaphoric. The components of such unities are not semantically independent, the meaning of every component is subordinated to the figurative meaning of the phraseological unity as a whole. The latter may have a homonymous expression - a free syntactical word combination.
e.g.: Nick is a musician. He plays the first fiddle.
It is his wife who plays the first fiddle in the house.
Phraseological unities may vary in their semantic and grammatical structure. Not all of them are figurative. Here we can find professionalisms, coupled synonyms.
A.V. Koonin finds it necessary to divide English phraseological unities into figurative and non-figurative.
Figurative unities are often related to analogous expressions with direct meaning in the very same way in which a word used in its transferred sense is related to the same word used in its direct meaning.
Scientific English, technical vocabulary, the vocabulary of arts and sports have given many expressions of this kind: in full blast; to hit below the belt; to spike smb’s guns.
Among phraseological unities we find many verb-adverb combinations: to look for; to look after; to put down; to give in.
Phraseological fusions are the most synthetical of all the phraseological groups. They seem to be completely unmotivated though their motivation can be unearthed by means of historic analysis.
They fall under the following groups:
Idiomatic expressions which are associated with some obsolete customs: the grey mare, to rob Peter to pay Paul.
Idiomatic expressions which go back to some long forgotten historical facts they were based on: to bell the cat, Damocles’ sword.
Idiomatic expressions expressively individual in their character: My God! My eye!
Idiomatic expressions containing archaic elements: by dint of (dint – blow); in fine (fine – end).
Semantic Classification of Phraseological Units
1. Phraseological units referring to the same notion.
e.g.: Hard work - to burn the midnight oil; to do back-breaking work; to hit the books; to keep one’s nose to the grindstone; to work like a dog; to work one’s fingers to the bone.
Compromise – to find middle ground; to go halfway.
Independence – to be on one’s own; to have a mind of one’s own; to stand on one’s own two feet.
Experience – to be an old hand at something; to know something like the back of one’s palm; to know the rope.Ледарювати – байдики бити, ханьки м’яти, ганяти вітер по вулицях, тинятися з кутка в куток, і за холодну воду не братися.
2. Professionalisms
e.g.: on the rocks; to stick to one’s guns; breakers ahead. 3. Phraseological units having similar components
e.g.: a dog in the manger; dog days; to agree like cat and dog; to rain cats and dogs. To fall on deaf ears; to talk somebody’s ear off; to have a good ear for; to be all ears. To see red; a red herring; a red carpet treatment; to be in the red; з перших рук; як без рук; горить у руках; не давати волі рукам.
4. Phraseological units referring to the same lexico-semantic field.
e.g.: Body parts – to cost an arm and leg; to pick somebody’s brain; to get one’s feet wet; to get off the chest; to rub elbows with; not to have a leg to stand on; to stick one’s neck out; to be nosey; to make a headway; to knuckle down; to shake a leg; to pay through the noser; to tip toe around; to mouth off; без клепки в голові; серце з перцем; легка рука.
Fruits and vegetables – red as a beet; a couch potato; a hot potato; a real peach; as cool as a cucumber; a top banana;гриби після дощу; як горох при дорозі; як виросте гарбуз на вербі.
Animals – sly as a fox; to be a bull in a china shop; to go ape; to be a lucky dog; to play cat and mouse; як з гуски вода, як баран на нові ворота; у свинячий голос; гнатися за двома зайцями.
Structural Classification of Phraseological Units
Еnglish phraseological units can function like verbs (to drop a brick; to drop a line; to go halves; to go shares; to travel bodkin), phraseological units functioning like nouns (brains trust, ladies’ man, phraseological units functioning like adjectives (high and dry, high and low,ill at ease, phraseological units functioning like adverbs (tooth and nail, on guard; by heart, phraseological units functioning like prepositions (in order to; by virtue of), phraseological units functioning like interjections (Good heavens! Gracious me! Great Scot!).
Ukrainian phraseological units can function like nouns (наріжний камінь, біла ворона, лебедина пісня), adjectives ( не з полохливого десятка, не остання спиця в колесі, білими нитками шитий), verbs ( мотати на вус, товкти воду в ступі, ускочити в халепу), adverbs ( не чуючи землі під ногами, кров холоне в жилах, ні в зуб ногою), interjections (цур тобі, ні пуху ні пера, хай йому грець).
Another structural classification was initiated by A.V. Koonin. He singles out Nominative, Nominative and Nominative-Communicative, Interjective, Communicative phraseological units.
Nominative phraseological units are of several types. It depends on the type of dependence. The first one is phraseological units with constant dependence of the elements.
e.g.: the Black Maria; the ace of trumps; a spark in the powder magazine.
The second type is represented by the phraseological units with the constant variant dependence of the elements.
e.g.: dead marines/men; a blind pig/tiger; a good/great deal.
There also exist phraseological units with grammar variants.
e.g.: Procrustes’ bed = the Procrustean bed = the bed of Procrustes.
Another type of the Nominative phraseological units is units with quantitative variants. They are formed with the help of the reduction or adding the elements.
e.g.: the voice of one crying in the wilderness = a voice crying out in the wilderness= a voice crying in the wilderness = a voice in the wilderness.
The next type of the Nominative phraseological units is adjectival phraseological units.
e.g.: mad as a hatter; swift as thought; as like as two peas; fit as a fiddle.
The function of the adverbial phraseological units is that of an adverbial modifier of attendant circumstances.
e.g.: as cool as a cucumber; from one’s cradle to one’s grave; from pillar to post; once in a blue moon.
Nominative and Nominative-Communicative phraseological units are of several types as well. The first type is verbal phraseological units. Verbal phraseological units refer to this type in such cases: a) when the verb is not used in the Passive voice ( to drink like a fish; to buy a pig in a poke; to close one’s eyes on something ; b) if the verb is not used in the Active voice (to be reduced to a shadow; to be gathered to one’s fathers).
Nominative and Nominative-Communicative phraseological units can have lexical variants.
e.g.: to tread/walk on air; to close/shut books; to draw a red herring across the trail/track; to come to a fine/handsome/nice/pretty pass; to sail close/near to the wind; to crook/lift the elbow/the little finger.
Grammar variants are also possible.
e.g.: to get into deep water = to get into deep waters; to pay nature’s debt = to pay the debt of nature.
Examples of quantitative variants can also be found: to cut the Gordian knot = to cut the knot; to lead somebody a dance = to lead somebody a pretty dance.
Lexico-grammar variants are also possible: to close/shut a /the door/doors on/upon/to somebody.
Interjective phraseological units are represented by: by George! By Jove! Good heavens! Gracious me!
Communicative phraseological units are represented by proverbs and sayings.
e.g.: Rome was not built in a day. An apple a day keeps a doctor away. That’s another pair of shoes. More power to your elbow. Carry me out.
3. Synonyms in Phraseology.
Synonymy in phraseology has been greatly enriched by various processes of the meaning shift, by the influx of foreign words and phrases.
Absolute synonyms which have the same meaning and connotation are comparatively rare.
e.g.: over head and ears = up to the neck;
a pretty kettle of fish = a nice pair of shoes;
байдики бити – давати горобцям дулі.
Relative synonyms denote different shades of different degrees of common meaning:
e.g.: to come to a conclusion; to jump at a conclusion; to leap at a conclusion.
There is every reason to establish a stylistic differentiation of synonyms. The synonyms of a particular phrase are not always interchangeable with that phrase as their use depends on the linguistic situation, the audience addressed, the speaker’s attitude towards the subject. Some of them are stylistically neutral, others have an emotional connotation. In stylistic synonyms the difference is not so much in the meaning as in the emotional colouring.
e.g.: word of honour (neutral) – as I live by bread (colloquial);
to be in high spirits (neutral) – to be on high ropes (colloquial);
заснути вічним сном (neutral) – простягти ноги (colloquial).
4. Antonyms in Phraseology.
Antonyms can be opposed to each other in their concrete meanings.
e.g.: an old sea wolf – a young calf of a mate; вбити собі в голову – викинути з голови, набитий гаманець – вітер у кишенях свистить.
The elements of the phraseological units-antonyms are expressed by the same part of speech.
e.g.: safe and sound – dead and gone; dead from the neck up – as wise as a serpent, макітра розуму – пустий лоб.
It is not investigated yet whether it is possible to use the negative particle not to form an antonym. We can use the negation in to step into somebody’s boots but we cannot use it in the expression to take a leaf from somebody’s book though it has the same meaning. In the Ukrainian language it is possible to use a negation in the following examples: велике цабе – невелике цабе, з легким серцем – з нелегким серцем.
5. Proverbs, Sayings.
A proverb is a short familiar epigrammatic saying expressing popular wisdom, the truth or a moral lesson in a concise and imaginative way. Proverbs have much in common with phraseological units because their lexical components are also constant, their meanings are traditional and mostly figurative and they are introduced into speech ready-made. That is why some scholars following V.V. Vinogradov think proverbs must be studied together with phraseological units. Another reason why proverbs must be taken into consideration together with phraseological units is that they often form the basis of phraseological units.
A proverb is always a sentence. Very often they are realised in superphrasal units.
Proverbs may have different contents.
War is condemned: War is sweet to them who know it not. War is the sport of kings.
Fools are laughed at: Fools grow without watering. He who is borne a fool is never cured.
Lazy-bones are criticised: Idleness is the root of all evil.
Proverbs teach to be economical: A penny saved is a penny gained. Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves.
Proverbs teach to work hard: He that will eat the kernel must crack the nut. He that would eat the fruit must climb the tree. He that would catch fish must not mind getting wet. He would search for pearls must dive below.
Grammatical Structure of Proverbs
1. Simple affirmative sentences.
Appetite comes with eating. A cat may look at a king. Money makes the mare go. A little pot is soon hot. The voice of one man is the voice of no one. Друзі пізнаються в біді.
2. Simple negative sentences.
You cannot judge a tree by its bark Plenty is no plague. Hungry bellies have no ears. Нема науки без муки.
3. Compound sentences.
God sends meat and the devil sends cooks. Nothing venture, nothing gain. Hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper. За морем тепліше, та вдома миліше. Від меча рана загоїться, а від лихого слова – ніколи.
4. Complex sentences.
He is lifeless that is faultless. He that lies down with/sleeps with dogs must rise up with fleas. If the things were to be done twice all would be wise. As the fool thinks, so the bell clinks. Хто мусить, той і каменя вкусить. Шануй свою голову, бо друга не виросте.
5. Imperative sentences.
Don’t teach your grandmother to suck eggs. Look before you leap. Don’t cross the bridges before you come to them. Не брудни криниці, бо схочеш водиці. Вмієш казати, вмій і мовчати.
6. Interrogative sentences.
Can the leopard change his spots? What can you expect from a hog but a grunt?
A.V.Koonin suggests the following classification of Еnglish proverbs:
1. Proverbs with the constant dependence of their elements.
They are the most wide-spread. Their characteristic feature is that they are monosemantic.
e.g.: A burnt child dreads the fire. A great ship asks deep waters.
2. Proverbs with the constant-variant dependence of their elements. Among them there are proverbs with lexical variants.
e.g.: Every cloud has a/its silver lining. The parson/priest always christens his own child first. Rats desert/forsake/leave a sinking ship.
Grammar variants are represented by the following examples: Constant dropping wears away/will wear away a stone. Small rain lays/will lay great dust.
There are proverbs with quantitative variants: First catch your hare then cook him = First catch your hare. There is no rose without a thorn = No rose without a thorn.
Some lexico-grammar variants have been registered: A burden of one’s choice is not felt = The burden one likes is cheerfully borne. Do in Rome as the Romans do = When at Rome do as the Romans do. Still waters run deep = Still waters have deep bottoms. There are spots even in the sun =There are spots on the sun.
Sayings
Sayings are communicative phrasal units of a non-proverbial character.
They can be represented by affirmative sentences: The answer is a lemon. The world is a small place. That is a horse of another colour. All is fish that comes to his net. Часом густо, а часом і пусто. Сорока на хвості принесла.
Interrogative sentences: Do you see any green in my eye? What’s the good word? Where do you hail from?
Negative sentences: Не нашого поля ягода. Не святі горшки ліплять.
Imperative sentences: Carry me out! Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
THE ETYMOLOGY.
1. The Native Element and Borrowed Words.
The most characteristic feature of English is usually said to be its mixed character. Many linguists consider foreign influence, especially that of French, to be the most important factor in the history of English. This wide-spread viewpoint is supported only by the evidence of the English word-stock, as its grammar and phonetic systems are very stable and not easily influenced by other languages.
To comprehend the nature of the English vocabulary and its historical development it is necessary to examine the etymology of different layers, the historical causes of their appearance, their volume and role and the comparative importance of native and borrowed elements in enriching the English vocabulary.
According to their origin words can be native and borrowed. A native word is a word which belongs to the original English stock as known from the earliest available manuscripts of the Old English period.
Native words are further subdivided into the words of the Indo-European stock and those of the Common Germanic origin. The words having cognates in the vocabularies of different Indo-European languages form the oldest layer. It has been noticed that they readily fall into definite semantic groups. Among them we find terms of kinship (mother, father, son, daughter), names of animals and birds (cat, wolf, goose), parts of human body (arm, eye). Some of the most frequent verbs belong to this word stock: come, sit, stand. Most numerals are also of the Indo-European origin.
A bigger part of the native vocabulary consists of the words of the Common Germanic word stock. Such nouns as summer, winter, rain, ice, hat; the verbs to bake, to buy, to make, to meet; the adjectives deaf, dead, deep are of the Common Germanic origin. Most adverbs and pronouns also belong here.
Together with the words of the Common Indo-European stock the Common Germanic words form the bulk of the most frequent elements used in any style of speech.
Characteristic Features of the Native Vocabulary
1. The words are monosyllabic: sun, wood, break.
2. They are polysemantic: hand – 1. Part of the human body. 2. Power, possession, by a responsibility.3. Influence. 4. Person from whom news comes. 5. Skill in using one’s hands. 6. Person who does what is indicated by the context, performer. 7. Workman. 8. Share in activity. 9. Pointer, indicator. 10. Position or direction. 11. Handwriting. 12. Signature. 13. Number of cards held by a player. 14. Unit of measurement. 15. Applause by clapping.
3. They are characterised by high frequency.
4. Native words are usually found in set-expressions.
5. Verbs with post-positions are usually native: to look for, to look after.
6. They are characterised by a wide range of lexical and grammatical valency.
7. If words begin with wh, wr, tw, dw, sw, sh. th; if at the end they have dge, tch,nd, ld; if the roots have ng, aw, ew, ee, oo they are native.
2. Causes and Ways of Borrowing into English.
In its fifteen century long history recorded in written manuscripts the English language happened to come in long and close contact with several other languages, mainly Latin, French, Old Norse. The great influx of borrowings from these sources can be accounted for by a number of historical causes. Due to the great influence of the Roman civilisation Latin was for a long time used in England as the language of learning and religion. Old Norse was the language of the conquerors who brought with them a lot of new notions of a higher social system – developed feudalism – it was the language of upper classes, of official documents from the middle of the 11th century to the end of the 14th century.
In the study of the borrowed element in English the main emphasis is as a rule placed on the Middle English period. Borrowings of the later periods became the object of investigation only in recent years. These investigations show that the flow of borrowings has been steady and uninterrupted. The greatest number of them has come from French. A large portion of them (41) is scientific and technical terms.
The number and character of borrowings do not only depend on the historical conditions, on the nature and length of contacts but also on the degree of the genetic and structural proximity of the languages concerned. The closer the languages the deeper and more versatile is the influence. Thus under the influence of the Scandinavian languages, which were closely related to Old English, some classes of words were borrowed that could not have been adopted from non-related or distantly related languages.
Borrowings enter the language in two ways: through oral and written speech. Oral borrowing took place chiefly in the early periods of history, whereas in recent times written borrowing gained importance. Words borrowed orally are usually short and they undergo more changes in the act of adoption. Written borrowings preserve their spelling.
Borrowings can be borrowed through transcription (football, trailer, jeans), transliteration (cruise, motel, club). Besides there can be loan words (blue stocking, collective farm).
3. Criteria of Borrowings in English.
Though borrowed words undergo changes in the adopting language, they preserve some of their former peculiarities for a comparatively long period. This makes it possible to work out some criteria for determining whether the word belongs to the borrowed element.
In some cases the pronunciation of the word, its spelling and the correlation between sounds and letters are an indication of the foreign origin of the word: waltz (German), psychology (Greek). The initial position of the sounds [v], [dz], [z] or of the letters x, j, z is a sure sign that the word has been borrowed : vase (French), jungle (Hindi), gesture (Latin).
The morphological structure of the word and its grammatical forms may also show that the word has been borrowed. The suffixes in the words neurosis (Greek), violoncello (Italian) betray the foreign origin of the words. The same is true of the irregular plural forms bacteria, media, phenomena.
The lexical meaning of the word can show the origin of the word. Thus the concept denoted by the words pagoda (Chinese), kangaroo (Australian) make us suppose that we deal with borrowings.
These criteria are not always helpful. Some early borrowings have become so thoroughly assimilated that they are unrecognisable as adoptions without a historical analysis: chalk (Latin), ill (Scandinavian), car (French).
Sometimes the form of the word and its meaning in Modern English enable us to tell the immediate source of borrowing. Thus, if the digraph ch is sounded as [ ] the word is a late French borrowing (echelon) ; if it is sounded as [k] the word came from the Greek language (archaic); if it is pronounced as [t ] it is either an early borrowing or a word of the Anglo-Saxon origin.
4. The Celtic Element in the English Vocabulary.
When the invading Anglo-Saxon tribes came to the British Isles and encountered the aboriginal population, the latter did not influence Anglo-Saxon to any serious extent – these were not more than some 10-12 Celtic words. Besides not all of them were originally Celtic. No historian as yet has explained the reason why the Celtic traces in the English vocabulary have been so slight. One of the explanations may be that before the Anglo-Saxons came Britain had been under Roman oppression for about four centuries and the native Celtic population must have been greatly reduced by the Roman invaders. The Roman legions left Britain to defend their capital from the advancing Goths. At the approach of the new invaders the Britons fled to Wales and Cornwall, the Celtic tribes of Ireland accepted the English language and the Celtic tribes of Scotland were influenced in their speech by the Northern form of English. Now the Celtic tongues exist in the form of Welsh, Irish, Gaelic and Highland Scotch and exercise their influence upon the local dialects.
The Celtic element includes such words as crag (rock), dun (greyish-brown), down (hill). There are some geographical names like Kent, Avon (river), Dover (water). Celtic elements are found in such place names as Duncombe, Helcombe ( cum – canyon), Llandaff (llan – church), Inverness (inver – river mouth). Some of the early Latin, French, Spanish borrowings came through Celtic (cloak, car, clock, carry).
On the whole, Celtic borrowings in the English language can be considered of the least importance.
5. The Classical Element in the English Language.
By the classical element we mean Latin and Greek.
Lexicographers have estimated that approximately a quarter of the Latin vocabulary has been taken over by English. But Latin words are not a homogeneous layer. We must distinguish between those borrowed through the immediate contact at the early stages of the development of the language and those later borrowings that came through writing. The first are mostly monosyllabic and denote things of everyday importance while the latter are mostly polysyllabic bookish words. The first are completely assimilated: pea, wine, cup, line.
Borrowings of the 5th century have a military favour about them for the Romans built fortifications, military camps and roads: port, street, wall. All these words got completely assimilated in the English language. Many of the Latin borrowings of this period did not survive but they are sometimes retained in English place-names: Manchester (castra – camp), Greenwich, Harwich (vicus – village).
Taken together these two periods form the first stratum of Latin borrowings.
The second great stratum of Latin words came into English at the end of the 6th-7th centuries when the people of England were converted to Christianity. Since Latin was the language of the church many Latin words denoting religious concepts came into English: abbot, bishop, candle, mass, temple. Some words changed their meanings. Many Latin words borrowed at that period can be referred to other spheres of life, such as things of everyday life (cap, chest), names of vegetables and plants (beet, plant). Since monasteries were also cultural centres where books were written and translations made such words as school, verse were borrowed.
Another great influx of Latin words came through French after the Norman conquest. They are generally referred to as the 3rd stratum of Latin borrowings. Their original source is Latin and their immediate source is French.
The greatest stream of Latin borrowings poured into the English vocabulary during the period of Renaissance. At that time words belonging to the following spheres were borrowed: terms of philosophy, mathematics, physics (fundamental, vacuum), terms of law and government (alibi, veto), terms of botany (mallow, petal), topographical terms (equator, tropical).
Nowadays when there appears a need to coin some term it is coined from the existing Latin or Greek elements.
Greek borrowings are recognised by their specific spelling (ch – character, ph - philosophy, pn – pneumonia, rh – rhetoric, ist – socialist, ics – mathematics, osis – neurosis).
To a certain extent Greek borrowings were latinized in form with the change of the Greek u into Latin y, the Greek k into the Latin c. When the Latin c changed its pronunciation before e, i, y many Greek words were changed beyond recognition
( kuriakon – church, kyklos – cycle). Some Greek proper names are widely used in Great Britain (Margaret, Sophia, Irene). Many Greek words were borrowed during the period of Renaissance. They belong to the following lexico-semantic fields: literature and art (poet, comedy), lexicology (antonym, dialect, philosophy and mathematics (theory, thesis, diagram), medicine (diagnosis, rheumatism), physics (pneumatic, thermometer).
6. The Scandinavian Element in the English Vocabulary.
The Scandinavian invasion of England which proved to be of linguistic importance began in the 8th century. In 1017 the Danes conquered the whole of England and reigned over up to 1042.
The Danish settlers intermingled with the native population. The fact of both languages being Germanic facilitated mutual understanding and word borrowings. That is why it is difficult sometimes to say whether a word is native or borrowed from Scandinavian. Words are sometimes considered to be of the Scandinavian origin if they were not met in Anglo-Saxon written documents up to the 11th century. Some examples of Scandinavian borrowings are the following: anger (OSc. angr – sorrow); gate (OSc. gata); sky (OSc. sky – cloud); want ( OSc. vant – lacking); to hit (OSc. hitta – not to miss); ill (OSc. illr – bad); ugly (OSc. uggligr – frightful).
In distinguishing Scandinavian words we may sometimes apply the criterion of sound such as [sk] – skill, scare, scream. The hard [g] and [k] sounds before i and e speak for the Scandinavian origin of the word since English words started having the palatalised [j] and [t ] sounds before i and e already in Old English. But these features are not always sufficient because sometimes we find [sk] in words of Latin, Greek or French origin or in Northern dialects.
Some English words changed their meanings taking on the meanings of the corresponding Scandinavian words: OSc. draurm – dream (OE dream – joy), OSc.– brauth – bread (OE bread – crumb, fragment).
Scandinavian settlements in England left their toponymic traces in a great number of place names: OSc. byr – village (Derby, Rugby); OSc. foss – waterfall (Fossbury, Fossway); OSc. toft – cite, plot of land (Brimtoft, Langtoft).
7. The Norman-French Element in the English Vocabulary.
The French layer rates second to Latin in bulk. It has been estimated that English owes one fourth of its vocabulary to French. French borrowings penetrated into English in two ways: from the Norman dialect (during the first centuries after the Norman Conquest of 1066) and from the French national literary language beginning with the 15th century.
The Normans who conquered England in 1066 were of Scandinavian origin and their French differed somewhat from the central dialect of France. During two centuries after the Norman Conquest the linguistic situation in England was rather complicated; the feudal lords spoke the Norman dialect of the French language, the people spoke English, scientific and theological literature was in Latin, the court literature was in French. Latin and French were used in administration and school teaching. Still English was in common use and therefore the Norman dialect was to a certain extent influenced by English in some phonetical and lexical points. Gradually English assimilated many French words that either ousted their Saxon equivalents (OE unhope – despair; OE tholemodness – patience), brought new concepts (exchequer, parliament) or became synonyms to native words (to help = to aid; weak = feeble).
Before the Norman Conquest only a few words were borrowed: proud, market.
French words borrowed during the period of the 12th –16th centuries show the social status of the Norman invaders and their supremacy in economic, cultural and political development. At that time a lot of terms were borrowed into the English language:
- terms of rank: duke, prince, baron;
- law terms: prison, jury, judge;
- military terms: army, peace, soldier;
- religious terms: pray, faith, saint;
- terms of art: art, beauty, paint;
- terms of architecture: pillar, palace, castle.
In most cases such words were completely assimilated.
Later French borrowings can be easily identified by their peculiar form and pronunciation: garage, technique, machine.
8. Various Other Elements in the English Vocabulary.
Quite a number of words were borrowed from other languages: Dutch, Italian, Spanish. England was in commercial contact with the Netherlands during the Middle ages. There lived and worked many skilful Dutch artisans in England (weavers, shipbuilders). Hence, the terminology of some professions owes much to Dutch and Flemish: cruise, dock, reef. Among borrowings there are also weaving terms: rock, spool.
Dutch art terms came to English as a result of the influence of Dutch art (landscape, easel).
The Italian language began to contribute to the English vocabulary in the16thcentury. Many Italian words such as military terms entered through French. During the period of Renaissance Italian culture greatly influenced the cultural life of England. Many musical terms were borrowed at that time: piano, opera, sonata. Among borrowings we find artistic terms (studio, fresco), literary terms (stanza, canto), business terms (bank, traffic), words denoting realities of Italian life (gondola, macaroni).
Spanish brought some words as well. Many words belonging to various languages of the native population of America came through Spanish: banana, canyon, cargo, potato, Negro.
Some Portuguese words came through French, Spanish and Dutch: caste, fetish. There are not many words borrowed immediately from Portuguese: tank, cobra, port (wine), emu.
There are borrowings from the German language: cobalt, quartz, leitmotiv, kindergarten, rucksack.
Some other languages contributed to the English vocabulary as well. Arabian gave some terms: algebra, Moslem, mufti, sherbet.
With the beginning of England’s colonial expansion in the 16th-17th centuries many words penetrated into the English vocabulary from the languages of colonial countries: cashmere, jungle, rupee (Hindi), ginseng, serge (Chinese), hara-kiri, rickshaw (Japanese).
The Russian language also contributed to the English vocabulary: rouble, kopeck, taiga, sable, sarafan, tsar.
In the Ukrainian language there borrowings from the Polish language (в’язень, застава, ліжко, зичити), from the Check language (брама, праця, вагатися). There also exist Turkic words (кабан, кайдани) in the Ukrainian language.
Words borrowed from the English language are partially assimilated (футбол, хокей). Some borrowings in the Ukrainian language are restricted in word-formation. Such words as ноу-хау, от кутюр have no derivatives.
International words are used in both languages: organisation, telephone, judo, banana. Some international words can coincide only in one of the meanings. E.g.: the words stress, faculty, data. They are called pseudointernationalisms.
9. False Etymology.
The historical development of borrowed words often brings about an indistinctness of the word’s etymological meaning. The words are then wrongly associated with their ultimate source whereas actually the word may have come through some intermediate language. The word debt comes not from the Latin word debit but from the French dette while doubt comes not from the Latin word dubitare but from the French word doute. But scientists wrongly attributed them directly to the Latin source and consequently introduced the missing b which never came to be pronounced.
In many cases words lose their etymological clarity. The word buttery (larder) which came from the Latin word botaria (Latin bota – barrel, bottle) was wrongly associated with the English word butter. Such instances of the so-called folk etymology are not very rare in the English language.
In some cases folk etymology leads to the appearance of compound words which are tautological. In the word greyhound the first element of which comes from the Scandinavian grey (собака) was associated with grey meaning colour.
Sometimes under the influence of folk etymology the spelling of the word is changed. The word hiccough was written hicket but it was associated with the word cough and a new spelling was introduced.
10. Types of Borrowings.
1. Aliens – words like eau-de-Cologne, phenomenon – phenomena, retaining their foreign look, their phonetical and grammatical peculiarities.
2. Denizens – loan-words that received the “right of citizenship” in English and are not easily recognised as borrowings (wine, table).
3. Barbarisms – words usually having synonyms among the completely assimilated or native words limited to official, literary, bookish usage (en regale, tete-a-tete).