LEXICOLOGY
Vocabulary layers
- territorial differentiation
the words with territorial restrictions are mostly non-standard words – regionalisms– used over a fairly large area, a transition between Standard and non-Standard words, and dialectisms– used over a much smaller area, refer to an older way of life, esp. to household objects, food, methods in farming, animals…
- social differentiation
cockney – a social dialect, speech of uneducated Londoners, it consists of deviations in pronunciation, it uses rhyming slang – making up a phrase that rhymes with the word that is substituted; besides, certain peculiarities in vocabulary and syntax are only found among completely uneducated speakers (bovver, bruvver = brother, lotta = lot of)
professionalisms – technical (professional) terms and phrases from particular fields of work and from amateur activities; they are found among students, sportsmen, actors, soldiers, waiters, musicians etc.
they are used only in communication with fellow workers and with those who share a particular activity
- stylistic differentiation
informal vocabulary– Standard and non-Standard colloquialisms and slang can be distinguished in the informal style
the difference formal x informal makes use of different vocabulary, sometimes different grammar and phonology
many informal words are expressive
the differences between the older and younger generations are more clear in the informal style than in the formal style
formal vocabulary – these literary words, technical terms and poetic expressions are usually of Romance or Graeco-Roman origin; they often develop from neutral words, they can also stop being formal
each technical branch has its own terminology, the term (termín) should meet following conditions:
- to have a precise meaning
- to be unambiguous within its field
- to be stable
- to have no emotional connotation
- to be suitable for making derivatives and compounds from it
- time differentiation
this differentiation means whether a word is or is not in full use
contemporary – a word is in full use
dated = not in full use, obsolete (zastaralý), e.g. windcheater (větrovka), charwoman (uklízečka)
archaic – used in a description of a past period only, e.g. chandler (svíčkař), stagecoach (dostavník)
e.g. cheerful (cont.) – gay (dat.) – merry (arch.)
neologism= a word which a speaker consciously invents or accidentally uses on a single occasion
with frequent use they enter everyday use; they are spread esp. by newspapers and magazines
e.g. artificial intelligence, RAM (Random Access Memory), cybercafé
- differences in origin
according to origin we distinguish:
native (domestic) words– father, mother, wind, moon, star, summer, buy, keep..
loanwords (=borrowings) – borrowed from other languages (70% of the Engl. vocab. consist of loan words, 30% are native)
words of Latin origin – e.g. interrogate, response…
Scandinavian – husband, sky, knife
Norman (French) – accuse, heritage, comfort..
Latin and Greek from the Renaissance – adventure, doubt, describe..
French – café, champagne, amateur, limousine..
German – Budweiser, marzipan, kindergarten, schnitzel..
Italian – fresco, balcony, macaroni..
Spanish – chocolate, cargo, coyote..