LECTURE 1.

THE WORD AND ITS MEANING

OUTLINE
1. The word and its main characteristics.
2. Types of meaning.
3. Semantic changes and their causes.

1. The word and its main characteristics.

Lexicology is a branch of linguistics that deals with the vocabulary of the
language and characteristics of words as the main lexical units. Lexical units
comprise words and set expressions, or groups of words of fixed character.
There are over 200 definitions of a word but none is generally accepted. The
word reflects world mapping which is culturally and nationally specific. Word
use is also pre-determined by person’s social and educational status, gender,
age, etc.
The word performs the following functions:
1) denotational (denotes things, qualities, actions,etc);
2) generalizing function (e.g. tree, house, animal);
3) emotive function (expresses our feelings and emotions);
4) structural function (performs a certain syntactic function, is a
part of a sentence).
The word is the smallest meaningful unit possessing the following features:
1) isolatability, i.e. ability of a word to function in
communication alone, to make a sentence, e.g. ‘Help!’ This
distinguishes a word from another meaningful unit – a
morpheme, which cannot be used in isolation. It can function
only as a part of a word.

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 2) indivisibility, i.e. a word cannot be further divided without
breaking its meaning. Cf. asleep – a (sound) sleep, alive – a
(quiet) life.
3) positional mobility, i.e. a word can change its position in a
sentence. E.g. Suddenly they came up to a house. They came
up to a house suddenly. Up to a house they suddenly came.
The word is a two-facet unit combining meaning and form. The relationship
between the two is denoted by the term motivation. If the connection between
the meaning of a word and its form is clear and the form helps us to understand
the meaning, the word is considered motivated. If the connection is
conventional, the word is said to be non-motivated at the present stage of
language development.
There are three types of motivation:
1) Phonetic , the sound form of the word helps us to understand its meaning,
e.g. bang, bump, hiss, cuckoo, etc.
2) morphological, the morphemic composition of a word helps to
understand its meaning, e.g. ex+ noun = former …; re+ verb = do again;
verb+er = agent, doer of the action.
3) figurative meaning of a word becomes clear through its direct meaning,
e.g. the leg of the table, the foot of the mountain, the eye of the needle.
II. Types of meaning.
The meaning is not homogeneous. It is a system of systems:
1) It combines lexical and grammatical meanings, e.g. actress is a personal noun.
2) Lexical meaning includes denotative and connotative ones.
3) Denotative meaning is conceptual (what a word denotes), it is divided into
semantic
components called semes, e.g. Father is a male parent. Denotative components may
be culturally predetermined (cf. winter in Siberia and in Australia, it is a
season

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 between autumn and spring but all other characteristics are different:
duration,
temperature, etc.).
4) Connotative meanings express the speaker’s attitude to the subject of speech
and may
be as follows:
a) stylistic: chap, fellow, associate; child, infant, kid;
b) emotive: cool, awesome, terrific;
c) expressive: to trudge, to march, to gobble;
d) evaluative: clever, silly, good, bad(rational evaluation),
scoundrel (emotional evaluation);
e) associative (a fir-tree – forest, New Year);
f) national and cultural (kilt – Scots);
g) pragmatic: Can you open the door?
5) A word may be polysemantic, i.e. it may have several interrelated denotative
meanings:
a) One of the meanings is called primary, this is the meaning
in which the word made its first appearance in the
language, all the other meanings which developed later are
called secondary, e.g. chair as a piece of furniture
(primary), chair as the head of some meeting, conference or
chair as a department (secondary meanings).
b) One of the meanings is central, others are peripheral. As a
rule, primary and central meanings coincide but it is not
necessarily so. In the course of language development a
secondary meaning may become the central one ousting the
primary meaning to the periphery, e.g. revolution: primary
meaning is that of rotary movement, revolving, secondary –
social change (now central).

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 c) Meaning can be direct and indirect (figurative, transferred),
e.g. white collar, blue collar, smoke screen, etc.

III. Semantic changes and their causes.

1.Specialization, or narrowing of meaning
e.g. garage – a safe place
meat – any food
2.Generalization, or widening of meaning
e.g. ready (in O.E. – ready for a ride, now – ready for any activity)
arrive – to land at a shore
3.Elevation of meaning (getting better, going higher)
e.g. queen (in O.E. – woman)
knight (in O.E. – young servant).
4.Degradation of meaning (getting worse, lower)
e.g. a spinster – a woman that spins wool
idiot – a private person
5. Transference of meaning. The name of one thing is used to name some other
things.
Transference is further subdivided into metaphor, metonymy and euphemism.
a) Transference of meaning based on likeness is called a metaphor. Metaphors
can be based on likeness of form (a head of cabbage), of position (the foot of
the mountain), function (Head of the Department), size, quantity (ocean of
troubles, storm of applause), etc. Sometimes a combination of several
features makes up the foundation for a metaphor (a leg of a table – function,
position, shape). Metaphors may involve transition from proper names to
common ones, e.g. a Don Juan, Apollo, Vandals, Hooligans.
b) Transference of meaning based on associations of contiguity (being together)
is called metonymy. We can use the name of a container for the thing it
contains (Will you have another cup?), instrument for the agent (His pen
knows no compromise), the place for the people who live or work there

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 (Kharkiv greets the guests. The Kremlin agrees to the treaty), the name of a
person for the things s/he made (He reads Byron), the name of a part for the
whole (Who’s the moustache?)
c) Transference of meaning dictated by social conventions, norms, rules of
behavior. A word or a word combination is used instead of the other word
that is offensive, rude, or taboo.
e.g. to die: to perish, to pass away, to join the silent majority, to meet one’s
maker, to be with the angels, to cross the Great Divide, etc.
toilet: WC, bathroom, the necessary facilities, powder room, ladies/ gents,
public conveniences, cloakroom, throne room, porcelain collection, Windsor
Castle, etc.

Causes of semantic changes may include linguistic and extra-linguistic ones.

The latter are connected with social, political, economic, cultural and scientific
development.
e.g. computer, space, feedback, bikini, villain, boor, etc.
The former embrace differentiation of synonyms (e.g. time and tide), borrowings
(hound and dog), preserving the old meaning in idioms (love token, token of
respect), etc.

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LECTURE 2.

PHRASEOLOGY

1. Set expressions, their features and origin.

2. Classification of phraseological units.

1. Set expressions, their features and origin.

Set expressions are stable ready-made units with fixed integrate structure.
They are contrasted to free phrases and semi-fixed combinations. A free phrase
permits substitution of any of its elements without any semantic change in the
other element, e.g. to go early: to work, get up, move, etc. early: to go late,
quickly, down, etc.
In semi-fixed combinations there are some boundaries for the substitution,
e.g. go to school (market, college, court, etc.) is used only with nouns of places
where definite actions are performed.
Features that make set expressions stable:
1) euphonic;
2) imaginative;
3) connotative.
Euphonic: rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, e.g. safe and sound, stuff and
nonsense, by hook or by crook.
Semantic stylistic features: simile, contrast, metaphor, synonymy, antonymy,
e.g. as like as two peas, as old as hills, more or less, from beginning to end, a
lame duck, arms race, to swallow a pill, proud and hauty.
A bit of expressions are connected with different spheres of people’s life,
nature, etc.
1) nature, e.g. out of the blue, as welcome as snow in May, to rain cats and
dogs, etc.

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 2) agriculture, e.g. plough the sand, reap a rich harvest, sow wild oats, etc.
3) sports, e.g. fair play, to kick a goal, etc.
4) mythology, e.g. the apple of discord, Achilles’ heel, etc.
5) the Bible, e.g. Solomon’s judgement, forbidden fruit, etc.
6) folklore, e.g. peeping Tom, Calamity Jane, etc.
7) literature, e.g. to fight the windmills, a green-eyed monster, etc.

2. Classification of phraseological units.

There are different approaches to studying and classifying phraseological
units.
1. The classification of V.V.Vinogradov is synchronic and semantic. It is
based upon the type of motivation. He distinguishes:
a) phraseological fusions, e.g. tit for tat. They represent the
highest stage of blending, are not motivated nowadays, are
specific for every language and cannot be literally translated;
b) phraseological unities , e.g. to know where a shoe pinches, to
rise to the bait, etc. They are clearly motivated, some of them
are easily translated and even international;
c) phraseological combinations, e.g. to meet the demands, to
make friends. They are not only clearly motivated but also
contain one component used in its direct meaning (demands,
friends).
2. Larin’s classification is also semantic but diachronic. He believes that each
unit goes through three stages in its development. First it is a free word
combination, then a motivated metaphoric phrase and then an idiom with lost
motivation, e.g. to give a sack, to give a cold shoulder, to dance attendance on
smb., etc.
Semantic classifications of Vinogradov and Larin are open to criticism since the
degree of motivation may be different for different speakers depending on their

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knowledge of history, customs and traditions, level of education, etc. So they
are subjective, not reliable enough.
3. N.Amosova’s approach is contextological. She defines phraseological units
as units of fixed context characterized by a specific word-order and peculiar
semantic relationship between the components. Phraseological units are
divided into phrasemes and idioms. Phrasemes are always binary. One of
their components has a phraseologically bound meaning, the other serves as
the determining context, e.g. small change, small hours, small talk. In idioms
the new meaning is created by the whole, each element having its own
meaning weakened or lost. Idioms may be motivated and demotivated.
4. Koonin’s classification is functional: depends on the functions
phraseological units fulfil in communication. There may be: a) nominating
(e.g. a man of straw, a bull in a china shop); b) nominative communicative
(verbal), e.g. to go round the bush, to pull one’s leg, etc.; c) communicative
(sentences by form), e.g. Curiosity killed the cat; d) interjectional, e.g. Good
heavens, a pretty kettle of fish, etc. Further classification depends on
whether the units are changeable or unchangeable, what their structure is,
etc.

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 LECTURES 3-5.
WORD-BUILDING. STRUCTURE OF WORDS.
OUTLINE
1. Structural types of words.
2. Affixation. Classification of affixes. Suffixes and prefixes.
3. Conversion (zero derivation).
4. Compounding. Classification of compounds. Criteria of
compounding. Borderline cases (semi-affixes).
5. Shortening.
6. Abbreviations.
7. Minor types of word-building.

I. Structural types of words.

Each word consists of morphemes, the smallest meaningful units of the language.
According to the role they play in constructing words, morphemes are divided into
roots and affixes.
The root expresses the main lexical meaning of a word. The root may often be
homonymous with the word. Such roots are called free morphemes. Affixes are
always bound morphemes, they can function only within a word.
According to their function and meaning affixes are divided into derivational
that serve to form new lexemes (words) and functional that express grammatical
meanings and serve to create grammar forms of the same word. Functional affixes
are also called flections (inflections), or endings. When a functional affix is
stripped from a word, what remains is the stem. If the stem contains nothing but
the root, it is a simple stem. If a stem also contains one or more derivational
affixes, it is a derived stem.
Depending on their structure and type of formation words are divided into:
1) simple words consisting of a root morpheme and the ending or zero-ending
(e.g. start, helps);

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 2) affixational derivatives consisting of a root morpheme and one or more
derivational affixes (suddenly, fearless, teacher);
3) compounds in which several stems are joined together (peace-loving, car-
sick, sweetheart);
4) derivational compounds where stems are joined together by composition and
affixation (bare-legged, heart-shaped);
5) shortened words (fridge, ed, pram);
6) abbreviations (MP, UN).

II. Affixation. Classification of affixes. Suffixes and prefixes.

Affixation is a way of forming new words by adding derivational affixes to
the stem. Derivational affixes are classified in a number of ways.
According to their position in a word affixes are divided into prefixes, which
precede the root, suffixes, which follow the root, and infixes inserted into the root
(historically n in stand is an infix).
According to the degree of productivity affixes are divided into productive
that help to form new words nowadays and non-productive no longer used in word-
formation at the present stage of language development, e.g. –lock (as in the word
wedlock).
According to their origin affixes are divided into native and borrowed.
Native affixes are those, which already existed in O.E. or were formed from O.E.
words. A root morpheme in a compound word may gradually develop into a suffix
and become a bound form no longer homonymous with any Modern English word.
E.g. –dom (O.E. fate, power), -hood (O.E. state), etc.
The most important native affixes are: -d, -dom, -ed, -en, -fold, -ful, -hood, -
ing, -ish, -less, -like, -let, -lock, -ly, -ness, -red,-ship, -some,-teen, -ty, -th, -wise, -
y.
Borrowed affixes are classified according to their origin: Latin (-able, -ible, -
ant/ent), French (-age, -ance, -ence, -ancy, -ency, -ard, -ate), Greek (-ist, -ism, -ite),

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etc. Affixes are borrowed only if a large number of words with the same affix are
borrowed, if both the meaning and the function of the affix are clear and if the
structural pattern corresponds to the structural patterns already existing in the
language. If all these conditions are fulfilled, the foreign affix may even become
productive and combine with native stems or borrowed stems within the system of
the English vocabulary. E.g. –able in laughable, unforgettable, unforgivable. The
English words balustrade, brigade, cascade are borrowed from French but the
English word blockade was coined by analogy from an English root with the
borrowed suffix.
The next classification deals with suffixes and divides them according to the
part of speech the words they help to form belong to:
1) noun-forming suffixes: -age (bondage, breakage), -ance/-ence (assistance,
reference), -ant/-ent (desinfectant, student), -dom (freedom, kingdom), -
hood(widowhood, sisterhood), -ee(nominee, trainee, employee), -er(teacher,
writer), -ess(actress, lioness), -ing (building, moving), -ion (rebellion), -tion
(creation), -ation (explanation), -ism (heroism, criticism),
-ist(novelist), -ment (government), -ness (tenderness), -ship(scholarship), -ty
(minority);
2) adjective-forming suffixes: -able(unbearable), -al(formal), -ant/ent (dependent),
-ary(revolutionary), -ate/ete(accurate, complete), -ful(delightful), -an(African), -
ish(reddish, childish), -ive(active), -less(useless), -ly(manly), -ous(curious), some
(tiresome), -y(cloudy, dressy);
4) adverb-forming suffixes: -ly(coldly); -wards(northwards), -
wise(likewise);
5) numeral-forming suffixes: -teen(fourteen), -ty (sixty), -th(seventh);
6) verb-forming suffixes: -ate(facilitate), -er(twitter), -en(shorten), -
fy(terrify),
-ise (specialise), -ish (establish).

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As to their lexico-grammatical meanings suffixes can be further subdivided, for
example, noun suffixes into:
a) suffixes of abstract nouns: -dom, -hood, -ion, -ism, -ment, -ness.
b) suffixes of personal nouns which are emotionally neutral: -
an(grammarian), -ent (student), -ant (servant), -er (porter), -or (inspector),
-ist (linguist), -ician (musician);
c) feminine suffixes as a subgroup of personal noun suffixes: -ess (actress,
lioness, tigress, hostess), -ine (heroine), -ette (cosmonette);
d) derogatory suffixes of personal nouns: -ard (drunkard), -ster (gangster), -
ton (simpleton);
e) diminutive suffixes (used to name both persons and things): -y/ie (hanky,
daddy, auntie, nightie), -let (booklet), -ock (hillock), -ette (kitchenette).

In contrast to suffixes most prefixes do not radically change the basic lexico-
grammatical
meaning of the stem but just modify it. So the prefixed derivative and its prototype
usually belong to the same part of speech. E.g. behave- misbehave, read – re-read,
please – displease, grateful – ungrateful. Some prefixes are used with words of one
part of speech only, others – with several parts of speech, e.g. re- with verbs and
nouns, un- with adjectives, verbs and nouns.
In some cases, however, prefixes may also change general lexico-grammatical
meaning and form words belonging to a different part of speech as compared with
the original word:
1) verb-forming prefixes be- (with adjective and noun stems), e.g. belittle,
benumb, befriend, becloud, behead; en-/em- (with adjective and noun
stems), e.g. encamp, enable, enslave, encase, embed;
2) adjective-forming prefixes pre-, post-, non-, anti- (with noun stems): pre-
war, post-war, anti-war, non-party.

The meanings conveyed by prefixes are as follows:

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 1) negative or reversative: de-, dis-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, non-, un, anti-.
e.g. decentralise, disagree, impatient, illiterate, irregular, nonsense, unhappy,
unmask ,
anticlockwise.
2) repetitive: re-.
e.g. rearrange, remake, remarriage.
3) adverbial of size or degree: out-, over-, under-, super-.
e.g. outdo, outnumber, overgrow, overfeed, underestimate, superman.
4) adverbial of manner: mis-.
e.g. misbehave, mistake.
5) adverbial of time: post-, pre-.
e.g. post-mortem, postgraduate, prepay, pre-war.
6) adverbial of place: trans-, sub-, in-, out-, a-.
e.g. transatlantic, subway, input, output, aboard.

III. Conversion (zero derivation).

Another type of derivation is conversion, or zero derivation. This is a process of

coining a new word belonging to a different part of speech without adding any
derivative element to the original word. So the basic form of the original word and
that of the derived word are homonymous, e.g. Don’t forget to dust the furniture.
As a type of word-building conversion exists in a lot of languages but in English it
has developed most intensely due to the lack of morphological signs indicating the
part of speech a word belongs to, e.g. home may be a noun (Home, sweet home),
an adjective (home assignment), an adverb (go home), a verb (A missile
automatically homes the target).
Conversion is the predominant way of forming new verbs in Modern English. They
may be formed from nouns (to hand, to shoulder, to knee, to finger, to eye, to nose,
etc.), from adjectives (to busy, to slow), from adverbs (to down) and other parts of

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speech. Nouns may be formed from verbs (a good catch, a short walk, a long
drive), adverbs (ups and downs), etc.
A special case of conversion is substantivation of adjectives, i.e. conversion of
adjectives into nouns. The degree of substantivation may be full or partial. Fully
substantivized adjectives share all the characteristics of nouns: can be used in the
singular and in the plural, in the common and possessive cases, with the indefinite,
definite or zero articles, e.g. a private, a group of privates, the private’s uniform,
privates’ duties. Words female, male, criminal, native, red, grown-up and some
others belong to the fully substantivated. Partially substantivated adjectives cannot
add –s or ‘s, are always used with the definite article and refer to a group of people,
e.g. the blind, the dead, the wounded, the poor, etc.
Most regularly conversion involves simple words but affixed and prefixed
words may be converted as well (though less commonly): commission- to
commission. Conversion may be combined with compounding, e.g. a drawback, a
handout, a take-over, to pinpoint, to blacklist.

IY. Compounding. Classification of compounds. Criteria of

compounding. Borderline cases (semi-affixes).

Compounding is a way of forming new words by joining together two or

more stems that occur in the language as free forms (separate words).
There are several classifications of compound words.

According to the way the stems are joined we distinguish:

1) compounds made by juxtaposition without any connecting elements, e.g.
heartache, heart-beat, heart-burn, heart-attack;

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 2) compounds with a vowel or a consonant as a linking element between the
stems, e.g. speedometer, handicraft, craftsman;
3) compounds with linking elements represented by prepositions,
conjunctions, pronouns: son-in-law, up-to-date, hide-and-seek, forget-
me-not.
According to the structure of stems we distinguish:
1) compounds consisting of simple stems, e.g. film-star, sun-beam;
2) compounds in which at least one of the stems is a derivative, e.g. chain-
smoker, mill-owner;
3) compounds in which at least one of the stems is clipped (shortened), e.g.
math-mistress, lab-test;
4) compounds in which at least one of the stems is a compound by itself,
e.g. wastepaper-basket.

According to the relations between the stems compounds are divided into
endocentric and exocentric. In endocentric compounds one of the stems is the main
and the other describes, characterizes it, serves to differentiate it from similar ones.
E.g. a sun-beam (not moon-beam or torch-beam), text-book (not exercise-book or
note-book or reference book). The main component is also grammatically the most
important part which undergoes morphological changes: sunbeams, brothers-in-
law, textbooks. In exocentric compounds we cannot distinguish the main stem, the
status of stems is equal, e.g. a killjoy.

According to their conformity to current grammatical patterns of the

language, compounds are divided into syntactic, which conform to the patterns and
may be transformed into corresponding word combinations, and asyntactic, which
do not. E.g. syntactic: a sea-shore (a shore of the sea), bookselling (selling books),
a bookbinder (a person who binds books). Asyntactic: babysitting (not sitting
babies), bookmaker (not a person who makes books).

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 According to the degree of their motivation, compounds are divided into
idiomatic and non-idiomatic. Idiomatic compounds are different in meaning from
the corresponding word combinations, e.g. a blackboard is not necessarily black
and may be not a board at all being made of plastic, linoleum, etc. In non-idiomatic
compounds the meaning is equal to the sum of the meanings of its components,
e.g. text-book, seagull.

It is not always easy to differentiate a compound word from a word

combination. There are several criteria to help with this task. Unfortunately, no one
type of criteria is normally sufficient for establishing the status of a lexical unit, is
relevant by itself. We need at least two of them to be sure.
1). Graphic criterion: solid or hyphenated spelling proves that the unit is a
compound word. However, English spelling is not consistent enough, e.g. airline,
air-line, air line; textbook, phrase-book, reference book.
2). Phonological criterion: compounds usually have a single stress on the
first syllable: ice-cream, blackboard (compare: a black board – each word is
equally stressed). But the rule doesn’t hold with adjectives which are always
double-stressed (green-grey, snow-white), the stress may be logical (It’s an express
train, not a passenger train) or the stress may help to differentiate the meaning of
compounds (e.g. mankind).
3). Semantic criterion: A compound expresses a single idea, which is not
identical in meaning to the sum of the meanings of its components in a free phrase
(e.g. blackboard). But it cannot be applied to clearly motivated compounds (e.g.
sunrise) or to idiomatic phrases (e.g. it rains cats and dogs).
4). Syntactical criterion is based on comparing a compound and the phrase
comprising the same morphemes. E. g. black birds can be modified by very (very
black birds) and it is impossible with the compound blackbirds. However, the
criterion cannot serve to distinguish compounds from set expressions in which the
words cannot be modified either: black market, black list (cannot say a very black
list).

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 5). Morphological criteria include: a) formal integrity (e.g. shipwrecks may
be wrecks ofa ship or wreck of several ships or wrecks of several ships; window-
cleaner does not clean just one window, the same about cigar-smoker or lip-
reading. The plural number present in the corresponding phrases is neutralized in
compounds.) But such examples are not numerous; b) connective elements (e.g.
Anglo-Saxon, craftsman). But there are very few words like that.
No criterion is sufficient by itself.

Sometimes it is not easy to distinguish a compound from a derivative either.

Such elements as man, berry, land, etc. have acquired valency similar to that of
affixes. They are now unstressed, their lexical meaning is somewhat weakened,
e.g. like, proof, worthy. The elements like this may be called semi-affixes. E.g.
fire-proof, damp-proof, kiss-proof; mini-bus, mini-crisis, mini-dress. The factors
conducing to transition of free forms into semi affixes are high semantic
productivity, adaptability, high valency and brevity.

Y. Shortening.

Shortening is a way of coining new words by clipping a part of their

prototypes. The remaining part does not usually change phonetically so it is
sometimes necessary to change the spelling: mike (from microphone), trank (from
tranquilizer), dub (from double).
The change of meaning may also take place:
a) shortened words are usually colloquial while their prototypes may be neutral
(e.g. bike, mike, doc);
b) shortened words are as a rule monosemantic while their prototypes may be
polysemantic (e. g. to double has several meanings:1) to increase twofold; 2) to
multiply by two; 3) to add the same note in the lower or higher octave; 4) to make

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another soundtrack of a film in a different language. The shortened word to dub
retains only the fourth meaning).
The correlation of a shortened word and its prototype may be as follows:
a) the curtailed form is a lexical variant or a synonym differing from the prototype
stylistically or emotionally (e.g. exam: examination, doc: doctor);
b) the connection can be established only etymologically, e.g. fan: fanatic, fancy:
fantasy.
Unlike conversion shortening produces new words belonging to the same part of
speech as their prototypes. The bulk of shortened words is constituted by nouns.
Verbs are hardly ever shortened (e.g. to rev from revolve). Shortened adjectives are
few and mostly reveal a combined effect of shortening and affixation, e.g. comfy
from comfortable, mizzy from miserable.
Shortened words are often homonymous with other shortened words, e.g. van (the
short for caravan and for vanguard), gym (gymnastics and gymnasium), vet
(veterinary and veteran).
Classification of shortened words is based on the position of the clipped part.
We distinguish:
1) final clipping (the end is cut off, the beginning of the prototype is
retained), e.g. ad (advertisement), ed (editor), coke(coca-cola);
2) initial clipping (the final part of the prototype is retained), e.g. story
(history), phone (telephone), drome (airdrome);
3) final and initial clipping combined, e.g. fridge (refrigerator), tec
(detective), flu (influenza);
4) medial clippinf (the central part of a word falls out), e.g. specs
(spectacles), ma’am (madam), maths (mathematics), fancy (fantasy).
Shortened words are opposed to shortened phrases, which result from a
combined effect of clipping, ellipsis and substantivation, e.g. weekly (weekly
paper), finals (final exams), pub (public house).

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 A special case of shortened words are fusions, or blends, or telescopic
words. They result from shortening and compounding of clipped stems. The
patterns may be:
a) initial element of the first stem + the second stem, e.g. paratroops (parachute
troops),
automaniac (automobile maniac);
b) the first stem + the final element of the second stem, e.g. slimnastics (slim +
gymnastics),
popcert (popular concert), videot (video + idiot);
c) the initial element of the first stem + the final element of the second stem,
e.g. smog
(smoke + fog), weddiversary (wedding anniversary), bit (binary digit).

YI. Abbreviations.

Abbreviations are words formed by initial letters of some other words.

Depending on the way they are read abbreviations are divided into:
a) those preserving alphabetical reading, e.g. BBC, SOS, TV;
b) acronyms read as though they were ordinary English words, e.g. UNO,
NATO, NOW.
A specific group is represented by Latin abbreviations which may be read:
a) alphabetically, e.g. a.m., p.m.
b) as corresponding Latin words, e.g.- exampli gratia, p.m. – post meridium, a.m.-
ante
meridium.
c) as corresponding English words, e.g.- for example, a.m. – in the morning, p.m.-
in the
afternoon.

19
 YII. Minor types of word-building.

1.Sound interchange.
It is a way of forming new words by changing some sound(s) in the root, e.g. food:
feed, life: live, speak: speech. It can be combined with affixation, e.g. strong:
strength or with affixation and shift of stress, e.g. democrat: democracy.
2.Distinctive stress.
It is a way of coining new words by changing the place of stress, e.g. import (n, v),
conduct (n, v), research (n, v in AmE).
3.Sound imitation.
It is a way of forming new words by imitating sounds associated with the objects
or actions the words denote, e.g. to splash, to giggle, to buzz, whisper, cuckoo, etc.
4.Back formation.
It is a way of coining new words by cutting a supposed or real suffix from existing
words, e.g. to butle (from butler), to beg (from beggar), to housekeep (from house-
keeper), etc.

20
LECTURE 6.

LEXICAL SYSTEMS. HOMONYMS. SYNONYMS. ANTONYMS.

OUTLINE.

1. Definition of homonyms. Classification of homonyms.

2. Sources of homonymy.
3. Definition of synonyms. Classification of synonyms.
4. Sources of synonymy.
5. Antonyms and their classification.

I. Definition of homonyms. Classification of homonyms.

Homonyms are words identical in sound and spelling or at least in one of these
aspects, but different in their meaning and distribution. The term is derived
from Greek (homos – the same, onoma – name, i.e. the same name combined
with the difference of meaning.
E.g. bank: 1) a shore, a river bank; 2) a financial institution;
Ball: 1) any spherical body; 2) a large dancing party.
Homonyms exist in many languages but in English this language phenomenon
is especially frequent, mostly in monosyllabic words (nearly 90 % of
homonyms).
Homonyms are divided into homonyms proper (identical in both sound and
spelling), e.g. ball, bank; homophones (identical in sound but different in
spelling), e.g. piece-peace, knight-night, scent-sent-cent; homographs (the same
in spelling but different in sound), e.g. to bow – bow, lead – to lead.
Another classification is based on the part of speech homonyms belong to. If
both homonyms belong to the same part of speech, they are lexical, e.g. to read

21
 – read, knight –night, to lie – to lie. Homonyms belonging to different parts of
speech are called lexico-grammatical, e.g. left – left, eye –I, knows – nose.
The third classification is based on the similarity of the paradigms (grammatical
forms each homonym possesses). E.g. match-matches: match – matches, such
homonyms are called full. Homonyms that coincide in one or two members (not
in all members) of their paradigms are called partial. E.g. to lie- lying-lied –
lied : to lie-lying- lay-lain ; left : to leave-leaving-left-left.

II. Sources of homonymy.

There are several sources of homonymy.

1) Phonetic changes. In the course of the language development two or more
words that were pronounced differently may develop identical sound form,
e.g. knight-night, sea-see, write-right.
2) Borrowing. A borrowed word may duplicate in form a native word or
another borrowing, e.g. write (native) – rite(Latin ritus), fair (adj, native) –
fair (noun, French),bank (shore, native)-bank (institution, Italian).
3) Wordbuilding:
a) conversion, e.g. pale-to pale, water –to water, comb-to comb;
b) shortening, e.g. fan – fan (from fanatic), van – from vanguard and
from caravan;
c) sound imitation, e.g. bang – to bang; mew –mew- mew.
4) Splitting polysemy, e.g. board. It is difficult to establish exact criteria by
which
disintegration of polysemy could be detected. The knowledge of etymology and
other
languages will help to supply the missing links. The imprecision of the criteria
is recorded in the data of different dictionaries which often contradict each
other. E.g. board is represented as two homonyms in Muller’s dictionary, as

22
 three homonyms in Arakin’s dictionary and as one polysemantic word in
Hornby’s dictionary.

III. Definition of synonyms. Classification of synonyms.

Synonymy is one of the most controversial points in linguistics. Roughly we may

say that when two or more different words are associated with the same or nearly
the same denotative meaning, the words are synonyms.
Sometimes criterion of interchangeability has been applied to definition of
synonyms. Accordingly, synonyms have been defined as words, which are
interchangeable in at least some contexts without any considerable changes in
denotative meaning. This criterion, however, has been much criticized. If all
synonyms were interchangeable, they would become useless ballast in the
language. Even those synonyms that seem to be interchangeable and are called
total by Academician Vinogradov, still differ in their distribution, use, etc. e.g.
cosmonaut is used in reference to European spacemen and astronaut – to American
ones. Or offer is followed by a noun while suggest – by a gerund. So the prevailing
majority of synonyms are partial.
Synonyms are united into synonymous rows. In each row there is one word,
which presents a kind of centre of the group of synonyms. Its semantic structure is
usually simple. This is the dominant synonym characterized by:
1) high frequency of usage;
2) broad combinability;
3) broad general meaning;
4) lack of connotations.
E.g. in the row: to look-to stare-to glare-to gaze-to peer-to peep-to glance-to
glimpse-etc. the dominant synonym is the word to look.
Synonyms can be classified as stylistic and ideographic. Stylistic synonyms differ
in their stylistic connotations, e.g. father-parent-daddy; stomach-belly. Ideographic
synonyms may differ in the following connotations:

23
 1) degree or intensity, e.g. to like-to admire –to live – to adore- to worship; to
surprise – to astonish- to amaze- to astound;
2) duration, e.g. to glance- to stare ; to say – to talk ;
3) manner, e.g. to stagger – to trot – to pace – to march, etc.;
4) cause, e.g. to shiver –to shudder ; to blush – to redden ;
5) emotive connotation, e.g. alone – lonely;
6) evaluative connotation, e.g. well-known – famous- celebrated- notorious,
etc.
We can also single out contextual synonyms that are similar in meaning only
under some specific distributional conditions, e.g Go and buy some bread – Go
and get some bread.
I cannot stand it any longer – I cannot bear it any longer. These words are not
synonyms outside the specified contexts.

IY. Sources of synonymy.

1) Borrowings from other languages or from dialects and regional variants

e.g. to ask (native) – to question (French) – to interrogate (Latin)
girl – lass (Scottish), lake-loch (Scottish), wireless – radio (AmE);
2) Wordbuilding:
a) conversion, e.g. a laugh( from to laugh) – laughter, to entame – to tame;
b) shortening, e.g. veteran –vet, refrigerator – fridge, to telephone – to
phone;
3) Euphemisms, e.g. drunk – merry – elevated, lavatory – restroom, etc.;
4) Phraseology, e.g. naked – in one’s birthday suit; to die – to join the silent
majority, to kick the bucket, etc.

Y. Antonyms and their classification.

24
Antonyms may be defined as two or more words of the same language belonging
to the same part of speech and to the same semantic field, identical in style and
nearly identical in distribution, associated and often used together so that their
denotative meanings render contradictory or contrary notions.
Contradictory notions are mutually opposed and deny each other, e.g. alive – not
dead, illiterate – not literate. Contrary notions are also mutually opposed but they
are gradable, e.g. old and young are the most distant poles on the scale: young –
middle-aged- elderly-old or hot-warm-cool-cold.
Classification of antonyms is based on the way they are built. Root words form
absolute antonyms (having different roots), e.g. right-wrong, derivational
antonyms are created by negative affixes added to the same root, e.g. happy-
unhappy, helpful-helpless.
In derivational antonyms morphological motivation is clear, there is no necessity in
contexts containing both members to prove the existence of derivational antonyms.
The word unsuccessful presupposes the existence of the word successful. But the
patterns, though typical are not universal. Morphologically similar formations may
show different semantic relationships.
E.g. disappoint is not the antonym to appoint, to unman (to deprive of human
qualities) is not the antonym of man (to furnish with personnel).
Another type of antonyms is contextual antonyms, i.e. words, which are contrasted
in actual speech and are not opposed outside certain contexts, e.g. Some people
have much to live on but little to live for. On and for are antonyms in this context.
Almost every word can have one or more synonyms. Comparatively few have
antonyms.
This type of opposition is characteristic of:
1) qualitative adjectives, e.g. old – new, pretty-ugly;
2) words derived from qualitative adjectives, e.g. gladly-sadly, gladness-
sadness;
3) words denoting feelings or states, e.g. triumph-disaster, hope-despair, love-
hatred;

25
 4) words denoting direction, e.g. to and from, hither and thither;
5) words denoting position in space and time, e.g. far-near, over-under, late-
early, day-night.
Polysemantic words may have different antonyms when used in different
meanings, e.g.
short –long (a long story, a short story), short- tall (a short man, a tall man), short-
civil (to be short with somebody, to be civil with somebody).
Polysemantic words may have antonyms in some of their meanings and no
antonyms in the others, e.g. criticism (blame) – praise, criticism (literary critical
essay) – (no antonym).
One more type of semantic opposition is conversives. They denote one and the
same referent or situation as viewed from different sides, with a reversed order of
participants and their roles, e.g. buy-sell, give-receive, parent-child. Conversive
relations are possible within one word, e.g. to sell: He sells books. This book sells
well. The same pair of words may function as antonyms or as conversives, e.g.
fathers and sons.

26
LECTURE 7

LEXICAL SYSTEMS (continued).

OUTLINE.

1. Stylistically marked and stylistically neutral vocabulary.

2. Slang and its characteristics.
3. Neologisms.
4. Archaisms.

I. Stylistically marked and stylistically neutral vocabulary.

All words are divided into stylistically neutral (basic vocabulary having no
stylistic connotations) and stylistically marked.
Stylistically neutral words can be used in any styles and situations, everyday,
everywhere and by everybody, regardless of profession, education, age group or
geographical location. Their meanings are broad, general and direct. A lot of
these words have synonyms, which are stylistically marked, e.g. child-infant-
kid, continue – go on – proceed, begin – start- commence.
Stylistically marked words are limited in their use and include formal and
informal vocabulary.
Formal vocabulary comprises:
1) official vocabulary used in documents, business transactions,
diplomacy, etc. E.g. high contracting parties, hereinafternamed, etc.
2) learned words common to all fields of knowledge, e.g. synthesis,
analysis, hypothesis, antithesis, etc.

27
 3) words associated with professional communication, special
terminology different for each branch of science or art, e.g. linguistic
terms: inflection, euphemism, paradigm, phoneme, etc.
Informal words are traditionally divided into:
1) dialect words used within a certain territory, e.g. Cockney dialect;
2) colloquial words
3) slang.
Colloquial words serve for a comparatively wide sphere of communication.
They are
further subdivided into:
a) literary colloquial words used in everyday conversational speech
by both cultivated and uneducated people of all age groups. It is
widely reflected in fiction, especially in modern writers’ works.
E.g. to have a bite, to have a snack, a bit of, a lot of, to start, to
finish, to give up, to make up, turn up, flu, pram, fridge, zip, etc.
b) familiar colloquial words. There is no strict border between literary
colloquial and familiar colloquial words. Yet the circle of speakers
using familiar colloquial words is more limited – the young and the
semi-educated. E.g. doc, hi, ta-ta, to pick up somebody, shut up,
etc.
Slang is controversial as to its definition, characteristics and classifications.
It is usually
divided into general slang and special slang (e.g. teenager slang, university slang,
football
slang, etc.)

2. Slang and its characteristics

28
 Slang consists either of new words or of current words employed in some
special sense. Most of slang words are current words whose meanings have
been metaphorically shifted and it is often accompanied with a course, jocular,
cynical colouring, e.g. saucers (eyes), trap (mouth).
Slang synonyms for ‘head’: attic, brain-pan, nut, hat-peg, upper storey.
Money: beans, brass, dough, etc.
People use slang for a number of reasons:
a) to sound picturesque, striking, different from others;
b) to sound modern, up-to-date;
c) to demonstrate independence;
d) to sound the same as all the rest in a group, to show that you ‘belong’
(especially important for teenagers).
After a slang word has been used in speech for a certain period of time,
people get accustomed to it and the most vital words are then accepted into
literary vocabulary. This happened to such words as snob, bet, bore, chap,
donkey, fun, mob, pinch, teenager, hitch-hiker, etc. But the bulk of slang is
formed by short-lived words.
Slang should be differentiated from argot (criminal jargon). Slang words
are clearly motivated, e.g. window-shopping, cradle-snatcher. Argot words do
not show their motivation, their purpose is to hide the real meaning, to be
comprehensible by a limited number of people.

3. Neologisms.
A neologism is a newly created word or a phrase or a new meaning
developed for an existing word, or a word borrowed from another language.
New notions constantly come into being and require new words to name
them or new meanings of old words, e.g. computer, isotope, tape-recorder,
supermarket, black hole, feedback. It does not matter how important a new
thing is, compare: nuclear war and roll-neck.
There may be different ways of coining new words:

29
 a) compounding, e.g. brain-drain;
b) shortening, e.g. bionics;
c) affixation, e.g. workaholic, bookaholic, money-mad, movie-mad, speed-
mad;
d) conversion (often+composition), e.g. fall-out, teach-in,etc.
As a general rule, neologisms are at first clearly motivated. Sometimes
newly borrowed or newly created words very soon begin to function as
indivisible signs.
In the course of time the new word is either accepted into the general
vocabulary and is no longer considered new or may not be accepted and
disappears from the language. So some neologisms are short-lived, others
become durable.

4. Archaisms.
Neologisms are contrasted to words that dropped from the language
(obsolete words) or survive only in special contexts (archaisms and historisms).
Archaisms are words that were once common but are now replaced by
synonyms. Old words become rarely used and are mostly associated with poetic
diction and historic novels.
e.g. betwixt – between, damsel – ‘a noble girl’, hark –listen, morn- morning,
woe – sorrow.
Thou and thy, aye, nay are certainly archaic and long since rejected by common
usage. Dialects are usually more conservative and preserve some archaic words
and structures.
Sometimes an archaic word may undergo a sudden revival, e.g. kin is now
widely used in American English.
Historisms are words denoting objects and phenomena which are things of the
past and no longer exist.
e.g. types of boats : caravel, galleon ; carriages : berlin, calash, gig, phaeton,
diligence, landeau ; clothes : doublets, tabard, bloomers.

30
A great many historisms occur in historical novels.

31
 LECTURE 8

THE ORIGIN OF ENGLISH WORDS. BORROWINGS.

1. The etymological structure of English Vocabulary.

2. Borrowed words and their assimilation.
3. International words, translation loans, etymological doublets.

1. The etymological structure of English Vocabulary.

According to their origin all the units of the English vocabulary can be
divided into two big groups: native and borrowed. The native lexical units
were not borrowed from other languages but represent the original stock of
the language. The native words include the following classes:
A. The Indo-European element: words of roots common to all or most
languages of the Indo-European family. These words denote
elementary notions without which no communication would be
possible. Professor V.D.Arakin singled out the following groups
within this class:
1) family relations: father, mother, brother, son, daughter;
2) parts of human body: foot, nose, heart;
3) animals: swine, goose, cow;
4) plants: tree, birch;
5) times of day: day, night;
6) heavenly bodies: sun, star, moon;
7) adjectives: red, new, glad
8) numerals: from 1 to 100;
9) personal pronouns (except they);
10) verbs: be, eat, sit, stand.

32
B. The Germanic element: words common to all or most Germanic
languages. They include the following semantic groups:
1) parts of the human body: head, hand, arm, finger;
2) animals: fox, bear;
3) plants: oak, grass;
4) natural phenomena: rain, frost;
5) seasons of the year: winter, spring, summer;
6) landscape features: sea, land;
7) houses and furniture: house, room, bench;
8) ships: ship, boat;
9) adjectives: colours (green, grey, blue, white), small, high, old,
good;
10) verbs: see, hear, speak, tell, say, make, give, drink.
C. The English Proper element: words which appeared in the English
vocabulary in the 5th century or later, that is after the Germanic tribes
migratwed to the British Isles. These are specifically English words:
lord, lady, boy, girl, bird, woman, daisy, always, etc.

Native words constitute no more than 35% of the English vocabulary but
they are extremely important for everyday communication and are used
very often. Out of 5oo most frequently used words there are about 4oo
native lexical units.

The borrowed words could be divided into groups depending on the

source of borrowing, i.e. the language they were taken from by the
English. The source of borrowing may not coincide with the origin of
borrowing, i.e. the language to which a word may be traced. A classical
example is the word paper, which was taken from French (Fr. papier).
But its origin is Latin or Greek (Lat. papyrus , Gr. papyros).

33
The following classification is based on the source of borrowing and is
closely connected with the history of the English people.

1) Celtic borrowings (not very numerous): bin, bard, cradle, druid, Avon
(“clear water”), Kent, London (Llyn ‘river’+ dyn ‘fortified hill’, i.e.
fortress on the hill near the river);
2) Latin borrowings further subdivided into three groups according to the
time of borrowing: a) first contacts and colonization of Britain (1
century B.C.-5 century A.D.): cheese, butter, wine, wall, port, etc.; b)
introduction of Christianity (7 century): priest, bishop, candle, school,
etc.; c) Renaissance: major, minor, intelligent, permanent, status, fact,
etc.(mostly scientific and artistic terms);
3) Greek borrowings (Renaissance period mostly): atom, epoch, cycle,
ethics, episode, epilogue, rhythm, metaphor, democracy, etc.;
4) Scandinavian (7-11 centuries): sister, husband, window, die, want,
kill, ugly, they, till, though, ski, skate, sky, skin, etc.;
5) French: a) Norman borrowings (11-13 centuries):titles (prince, duke,
count, baron), army (officer, general, division), justice (judge, jury),
words connected with upper classes(palace, mansion, painter, tailor,
etc); b) Parisian borrowings (Renaissance): bourgeois, regime,
routine, police, machine, ballet, scene, technique; c)modern
borrowings(diplomatic terms and social life): communiqué, attaché,
dossier, champagne, menu, corsage, blouse, coquette, etc.
6) Italian (Music, art, military, commercial):piano, opera, balcony,
corridor, studio, sonnet, medals, alarm, colonel, million, cartridge;
7) Spanish(colonies, foreign trade): sombrero, tomato, potato, toreador,
tobacco, Negro, banana, etc.;
8) German (war and chemistry): blitz, Gestapo, cobalt, zink, nickel, etc.;
9) Dutch (navigation and art): freight, skipper, deck, dock, sketch,
landscape, easel, etc.;

34
 10) Indian: curry;
11) Russian: troika, vodka, balalaika, samovar, sarafan, Soviet,
Kremlin, czar(tsar), sputrnik, intelligentsia, etc.

2. Borrowed words and their assimilation.

All the borrowed words got mixed with the native stock in the process of
historic development, so sometimes it is difficult to tell borrowed words from
native, e.g. table, wall, sister, painter. But a lot of words have preserved some
peculiarities in pronunciation, spelling, morphology, which help to determine
the origin of these words.
According to the degree of assimilation borrowed words are divided into:
1) completely assimilated;
2) partially assimilated;
3) unassimilated, or barbarisms.

Completely assimilated borrowings are usually old: street, husband, table. They
follow all morphological, phonetic and spelling standards of English. They are
frequently used and stylistically neutral and usually active in word formation.

Partially assimilated borrowings are further subdivided into groups depending

on the aspect which the words are not assimilated in:
a) not assimilated semantically: denote objects and notions
peculiar to the country from which they came:
clothes(sombrero), titles and professions (shah, bei, toreador),
food and drinks (pilaw, borsch, galushky), money (rouble), etc.
b) not assimilated grammatically, e.g. original plural forms of
Greek and Latin borrowings: crisis – crises, criterion – criteria,
stimulus – stimuli, datum – data, etc.

35
 c) not assimilated phonetically: with the stress on the last syllable
(police, routine), sounds and combinations that are not standard
in English (bourgeois, prestige, memoir), the whole phonetic
pattern is different, e.g. opera, soprano, confetti, etc.
d) not assimilated graphically: with diactric marks (café, cliché),
special digraphs (bouquet, brioche), some silent letters (ballet,
corps).
Some words may have incomplete assimilation in more than one
aspect.
Barbarisms are not assimilated in any way foreign words which are used by
Englishmen in communication though they have native equivalents, e.g. ciao,
Anno Domini, etc.

3. International words, translation loans, etymological doublets.

Borrowing is seldom limited to one language. Words of identical origin that
occur in several languages as a result of simultaneous or successive
borrowings from the same source are called international. They play an
important role in scientific terminology, industry, art. E.g., Italian
borrowings in music, Latin borrowings in science, etc. There exist false
translator’s friends, e.g. magazine, champion, general, capital, etc.

Translation loans are formed from the material already existing in the
English language but according to the pattern taken from another language
by literal translation, e.g. wall newspaper (from Russian), chain-smoker
(from German), swan song (German), etc.

Etymological doublets are two or more words of the same language which
were derived from the same basic word but by different routes. They now
differ in form, meaning and usage. Doublets appear when:

36
1) words came through different dialects in O.E.: raid and road, drag and
draw;
2) words were borrowed twice in different periods: castle – chateau; catch-
chase;
3) words which developed from different grammatical forms of the same
borrowed word: super-superior-supreme (degrees of comparison of the
same Latin adjective).

37
LECTURE 9

REGIONAL VARIETIES AND DIALECTS

1. The national literary language. Local dialects and variants. Dialects on the
territory of the British Isles.
2. Variants of the English language .
3. American English.

1. The concept of norm is one of the main in linguistics since the norm embraces
all language levels: phonetics, grammar, and vocabulary. It is determined
socially, historically and linguistically. It is stable and compulsory for all the
speakers of a certain language as well as internationally recognized as
standard.
The norm is abstract. It is realized through national, generally received variants:
Br E, Can E, Am E, Au E, etc.
The national literary language in Britain was formed on the basis of the South-
Eastern dialect (London dialect) which developed from a territorial dialect into
socio-regional. Modern English orphoepic norm – Received Pronunciation
developed from that dialect. BRP embraces only a small portion of population of
Britain – about 3-5%. It enjoys a high social status, being characteristic of public
school graduates. All the rest of the population uses one of the regional standards.
Regional varieties possessing a literary form are called variants ( the Scottish
Tongue, Irish English).Varieties of the language peculiar to some districts and
having no normalized literary form are called dialects. There are 5 main groups
of dialects in Britain.: Northern, Midland, Eastern, Western, and Southern.
They differ in pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.
e.g. Northerners pronounce ‘come, love, bus’ as ‘coom, loov, boos’; they
pronounce ‘ dance, chance, France’ like Americans but the word can’t is

38
pronounced with a long a. Sometimes Northerners leave out the article ‘the’ and
possessive pronouns ’my, his, your’, etc.
One of the best known and most picturesque is the dialect of Cockney whose
home is East End of London. Cockneys pronounce ‘wait, late, tray’ like ‘white,
light, try’, etc. ‘h’s’at the beginning of the words are often dropped; ‘ouse, ‘ere,
‘ave. Intradental sounds are replaced with labio-dental: farver (father), fing
(thing).
A characteristic feature of Cockney is the so-called rhyming slang. A phrase is
used instead of a word with which it is rhymed: frog and toad – road, apples and
pears – stairs, pot of honey – money, strike me dead – bread, loaf of bread – head,
trouble and strife – wife.
Due to people’s migration and to teaching Standard English at schools all over the
country dialect differences have been slowly dying. Nowadays in Britain there are
two opposite tendencies: 1) prejudices against substandard forms are still strong,
British are most particular as to pronunciation norms; 2) a growing number of
people, especially the young, reject BRP as associated with the Establishment and
are proud of their roots. Mass culture, folk songs sung by popular singers have
also contributed to lowering of standards, more regional deviations have become
accepted.
2. The status of Am e, Au E, Can E, etc. has been a disputable question for a
certain periods of time. The prevailing point of view now is that they cannot be
called dialects having their own literary norms. They cannot be called separate
languages either since the bulk of phonemes, words and grammar forms used
in them are the same. So the term ‘national variants’ is preferably used.
There are certain factors, which predetermined common features and
differences in the national variants of the English Language. Common
features are connected with the following:
a) one and the same language source (English of Britain of the 17-18th
cent.);
b) common dialectal basis (immigrants brought local dialects with them);

39
 c) orientation to British literary norm due to its high social status;
d) analogous stages passed by all national variants in their development
(transplantation, adaptation to functioning in new conditions, formation
of national variants and functioning as separate variants).
Factors which caused differences are as follows:
a) local geographic, ethnic, social conditions;
b) great distances between the colonies and the metropoly;
c) regularity of contacts;
d) other languages influence.

3. American English.
Vocabulary differences between British English and American English fall under
four major categories.
1. Same word, different denotative meaning.
Br E Am E
homely down to earth, domestic ugly (of people)
nervy nervous bold, full of nerve
pants underpants trousers
pavement footpath, sidewalk road surface
to tick off to scold to make angry
2. Same word, additional meaning in one variety
Common meaning Additional in Am E
bathroom room with bath/shower and room with toilet only
sink
dumb mute stupid
good fine, nice valid (as of tickets, offers)
school educational institution all institutions of any level
(primary, secondary)
to ship to transport by ship to transport by train,
plane, or trunk

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 Common meaning Additional in Br E
leader one who commands, guides an editorial
smart intelligent well-groomed
surgery a medical operation, an office of any doctor
or an operating room

3. Same word, difference in style, connotation, frequency of use

Br E usage Am E usage
autumn common, all styles poetic or formal
clever common, positive less common, negative
fortnight common, all styles uncommon, archaic
quite negative or neutral positive

4. Same concept or item, different word

Am E Br E
faucet tap
muffler (on a car) silencer
sophomore second-year student
washcloth face flannel
zero nought
line queue
can tin
gas petrol
couch sofa

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