Formal vocabulary

Formal style is restricted to formal situations. Learned Words - numerous words that are used in scientific prose and can be identified by their dry, matter-of-fact flavour (comprise, compile, experimental, heterogeneous, homogeneous, conclusive). Officialiese - the words of the official, bureaucratic language (assist,endeavour,proceed, approximately, sufficient, attired) The words found in descriptive passages of fiction. Theirvery sound seems to create complex and solemn associations.(solitude,sentiment,fascination,delusion, felicity, cordial, illusionary). Modes of poetic diction. with a high-flown, sometimes archaic, colouring:Alas.

Archaic and Obsolete Words - partly or fully out of circulation, rejected by the living language. historical novels, poetry. Numerous archaisms in Shakespeare, but what appear to us today as archaisms in the works of Shakespeare, are examples of everyday language of Sh-re's time.(prithee,bounteously,morn- morning), eve-evening), moon - month), damsel - girl) Historisms -things of the past and no longer exist.

Prof Terminology -words belong to special scientific, prof or trade terminological systems and are not used or even understood by people outside the particular speciality.

Term is a word or a word-group which is specifically employed by a particular branch of science, technology, trade or the arts to convey a concept peculiar to this particular activity.(labialization, palatalization, descending scale are terms of theoretical phonetics, theatre ("операционная"), contact (носитель инфекции). According to some linguists, an "ideal" term should be monosemantic (it should have only one meaning). terms should not have synonyms because specialists would not be able to come to any agreement. In fact, terms do possess synonyms.(colour- shade, tint, tinge)

41. American English. The main variants of the English language.
AmEnglish begins its history at the beginning of the 17 when first English-speaking settlers began to settle on the Atlantic coast of the American continent. The language which they brought from England was the language spoken in England during the reign of Elizabeth the First. Englishmen was to find names for places, animals on the Am continent. They took some of names from languages spoken by the local population - Indians, squaw -an Indian woman, wigwam. The 2 period-19 century. Immigrants continued to come from Europe to America. Italians brought with them a style of cooking - pizza, spaghetti. German- hamburger, noodle. During 2 period there appeared words which were formed in the language due to the new political system, liberation of America from the British colonialism, its independence: USA, assembly, congress, Senate, congressman, President, senator. Differences of spelling. a) the delition of the letter «u» in words ending in «our», e.g. honor, favor; b) the delition of the second consonant in words with double consonants, e.g. traveler, wagon, c) the replacement of «re» by «er» in words of French origin, e.g. theater, center, d) the delition of unpronounced endings in words of Romanic origin, e.g. catalog, program.

The American variant of the English language differs from British English in pronunciation, some minor features of grammar, but chiefly in vocabulary.

The first colonies were founded in 1607, so that the first colonizers were contemporaries of Shakespeare, E. Spenser and J. Milton. Words which have died out in Britain, or changed their meaning may survive in the USA. Thus, I guess, was used by G. Chaucer for I think. For more than three centuries the American vocabulary developed more or less independently of the British stock and was influenced by the new surroundings.

Standard English may be defined as that form of English which is current and literary, substantially uniform and recognized as acceptable wherever English is spoken or understood. Most widely accepted and understood either within an English-speaking country or throughout the entire English-speaking world.

Variants of English are regional varieties possessing a literary norm. There are distinguished variants existing on the territory of the United Kingdom (British English, Scottish English and Irish English), and variants existing outside the British Isles (American English, Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English, South African English and Indian English). British English is often referred to the Written Standard English and the pronunciation known as Received Pronunciation.

Local dialects are varieties of English peculiar to some districts, used as means of oral communication in small localities; they possess no normalized literary form.

Variants of English in the United Kingdom

Scottish English and Irish English have a special linguistic status as compared with dialects because of the literature composed in them.

Variants of English outside the British Isles

Outside the British Isles there are distinguished the following variants of the English language: American English, Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English, South African English, Indian English and some others. Each of these has developed a literature of its own, and is characterized by peculiarities in phonetics, spelling, grammar and vocabulary.

Date: 2016-01-20; view: 1249; Нарушение авторских прав