Stylistic stratification of the english vocabulary. Literary and non-literary strata. The subsystems of the english lexicon: slang, jargon, euphemisms, neologisms, archaisms
| Basic stylistic oppositions | Grouping of words | |
| Neutral | ||
| Non-neutral | literary | Poetic words, archaic words (archaisms), scientific terms, historical terms |
| colloquial | Dialect terms, slang, argot, jargon, vulgarisms |
Neutral words
The quality of neutrality is actually absence of connotation both stylistic and expressive. Neutral words are indispensable in communication. Neutral words in English are for the most part short. They are highly polysemantic and characterized by the high frequency of use. If a word is classified as neutral, it is not to be understood that all of its meanings are neutral. On the contrary, secondary meanings in many cases derive connotations from their connection with the main meaning.
E.g. kid 1) baby goat (primary meaning)
2) child (colloquial meaning)
Neutral words are usually central members of synonymous sets. They are words through which the other members can be identified.
E.g. woman – lady – female
Child – kid
It is important to know that neutrality is the feature of words which have no synonyms.
E.g. spoon, rose – have no synonyms
Non-neutral layer
Literary words
The general impression of literary words is that of big words, complex in their structure and even difficult words. This is largely due to the fact that they are predominantly of foreign language (mainly Greek and Latin).
Literary words are a feature of polished (уточненный) language, concerned with precision and propriety. May be for this reason the domain of literary words is writing. The meaning of literary words are often more precise and sharp than the meanings of their neutral synonyms.
E.g. sojourn “temporary stay”
Pilgrimage “a journey undertaken by a religious devotee, a ritual”
Most literary words are free from emotive connotations. Literariness doesn’t go well with polysemy. That is why literary words usually have one and sometimes 2 meanings and this also limits the possible sphere of their use.
Poetic words
Originally poetic words were used only in poetry. In older times the language of poetry was different from ordinary language and possessed a special vocabulary of its own. Many things which were mentioned both poetry and in ordinary life had their special names in the poetic language.
E.g. steed or charger for horse
Welkin for sky
Vale for valley
Woe for sorrow
Such have survived because poetic texts have been preserved and are still enjoyed in our time. But their status in language has become quite similar to that of archaic words.
Archaic words
Archaisms are words that were once common but are now replaced by synonyms.
Archaic words have practically fallen out of active use, yet they are understood by modern users of the language. They have survived because they are used in recorded texts which are still read.
E.g. damsel – a noble man
Hark – listen
Perchance – perhaps
Scientific terms
Scientific terms denote concepts in various fields of knowledge and their use requires clarity of thought and precision that distinguishes the use of literary words in general. The number of scientific terms is enormous and is rapidly growing because each science develops its vocabulary, as it develops itself discovering new facts about reality. Scientific terms have no synonyms in the neutral vocabulary, but still there are cases when the science uses a special term for something that in ordinary life is denoted by a common neutral word.
E.g. skull (neutral) – cranium (medical)
Cervical (физиология) – related to the neck
Historical terms
Historical terms denote things that now belong to the past and are only mentioned in historical contexts (in books on history etc.)
E.g. yeoman – a farmer who owned and worked on his own land in former times
Serf – someone in former times who lived and worked on land that they did not own
Minstrel – a singer or musician in the Middle ages
Colloquial words
Colloquial words are suitable for spontaneous oral communication, where expression of emotions is sometimes as important as statements of facts and formulation of ideas. That accounts for the fact that colloquial words have a tendency to be shorter, because shorter form of expression can be grasped at a single moment.
E.g. Bicycle – bike
Spectacles – specs
Precision and sharpness are now the virtues of colloquial words. On the contrary, very often their meanings are loose.
Dialectal words
Dialectal words are confined to the speech of people of a definite locality, mainly the less educated. Uneducated speakers usually do not mean to convey any additional information by using dialectal words, whereas educated people may use local dialectal words for special expressive purposes, when they are aware of their connotations.
E.g. Cockney
Up the pole – for “drunk”
Loaf of bread – for “head”
Daisy roots – for “boots”
Slang
Slang is language of a highly colloquial type considered as below the level of educated standard speech and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense. It shows a complete directness which seems to deliberately challenge the norms of society.
Slang is characterized by:
1) Liveliness
2) Expressiveness
3) Some humorous quality
According to the sphere of usage slang is divided into general slang and special slang.
General slang is used by people with quite different backgrounds.
Special slang is peculiar for some social group (teenagers etc.)
In this case, slang is one of the chief markers of in-group identity. Slang is the most unstable part of the vocabulary, because each new generation tries to assert itself through the use of their own words, distinct from words used by their elders. Very often words of slang are synonyms to neutral words.
E.g. attic, hat peg, nut for “head”.
Slang words suggest a different focus on similar things. There are cases, it should be noted, when words originating as slang become part of a stand vocabulary.
E.g. teenager, boom, hippy, soap opera (originated as slang)
Very often they have no synonyms and their communicative value ensures their stability.
Argot
Argot can be defined as the special language of a secretive group. Its main purpose is to be unintelligible to outsiders. (it is used by criminals)
E.g. rap for “kill”
Shin for “knife”
Argot words do not show their motivation, whereas slang words are clearly motivated.
Jargon
Jargon is associated with professional terminology. It is the technical vocabulary of a special activity of group.
Like slang it is a variety of language used by particular social group, but it doesn’t convey rebellion or informality.
Medical jargon: NAD - no acute distress
A bell ringer – often rings the bell for attention
Computer hacker jargon:
“Lose, lose” – is used as a reply or comment on an undesirable situation
“I suddenly deleted all my files – Lose, lose”
Microsoft – Microsloth (sloth – laziness)
Internet Explorer – Internet Exploiter (эксплуататор)
Vulgarisms
Vulgarisms are words the use of which is restricted by the norms of language behaviour. They are heavy with emotive connotations and cause strong emotional responses partially because their use is felt to be a violation of social propriety. That is a minor linguistic offence. The most offensive of them are described as taboo-words.
Euphemisms
Euphemisms are words in which by a shift of meaning a word of more or less ‘pleasant or at least inoffensive connotation becomes synonymous to one that is harsh, obscene, indelicate or otherwise unpleasant. The effect is achieved, because the periphrastic expression is not so harsh, sometimes jocular and usually motivated according to some secondary feature of the notion.
E.g. naked - in one’s birthday suit
pregnant - in the family way
die - be no more - be gone - lose one’s life - breathe one’s last - join the silent majority - go the way of alt flesh - pass away - be gathered to one’s fathers.
Euphemisms always tend to be a source of new synonymic formations, because after a short period of use the new term becomes so closely connected with the notion that it turns into a word as obnoxious as the earlier synonym.
Neologisms
Neologisms new word expressions are created for new things irrespective of their scale of importance. They may be all important and concern some social relationships (new form/ state) People’s republic. Or smth threatening the very existence of humanity nuclear war or the thing may be short lived. Nis a newly coined word, phrase/ a new meaning for an existing word / a word borrowed from another language.
The development of science and industry technology: black hole, internet, supermarket.
The adaptive lexical system isn’t only adding new units but readjust the ways & means of word formation radio detection and ranging – RADAR
The lex. System may adopt itself by combining several word-building processes face-out (noun) – the radioactive dust descending through the air after an anatomic explosion. This word was coined by composition/ compounding & conversion.
Teach –in (n) –a student conference/ series of seminars on some burning issue of the day, meaning some demonstration on protest. This pattern is very frequent lis–in , due-in means protest demonstration when fluking traffic. Bionies – the combination of bio & electron.
Back formation: air-condion – air-conditioner – air-conditioning
Semi-affixes (могут быть как самостоятельные слова) chairman used to be not numerous and might be treated as exceptions now, evolving into separate set.
Some N abscessed with smth and containing the elements mad & happy: powermad, moneymad, auto-happy.
Conversion, composition, semantic change are in constant use when coining N
The change of meaning rather an introduction of a new additional meaning may be illustrated by the word NETWORK – stations for simultaneous broadcast of the same program.
Once accepted N may become a basis for further word formation. ZIP – to zip – zipper – zippy.