- •I. Consider your answers to the following:
- •II. Analyze the following text. Say how many words and lexemes it contains:
- •Analyze the functions of the italicized words in the following texts:
- •Seminar II General Survey of the English Vocabulary
- •VI. Point out informal (slang or colloquial) or formal words from the following extracts. Write them out into three columns and give your reasons:
- •Questions and Tasks
- •I. Consider your answers to the following:
- •II. From the words given below pick out the archaic words and comment on their usage and meaning:
- •IV. Give modern English equivalents of the following archaic words; classify them into lexical and grammatical archaisms; translate them into Russian:
- •V. Group the following neologisms according to the way of their formation; translate them into Russian:
- •VII. In the following verse, find the words belonging to the poetic diction:
- •VIII. From the following extract, pick out archaisms, give their modern English equivalents:
- •IX. Pick out 20-25 literary learned words from the book on your home-reading. Seminar III Etymological Characteristics of Modern English Vocabulary
- •Questions and Tasks
- •I. Consider your answers to the following:
- •Seminar IV Morphological Structure of English Words and Affixation
- •Questions and Tasks
- •I. Consider your answers to the following:
- •Seminar V Conversion
- •Questions and Tasks
- •I. Consider your answers to the following:
- •II. Find examples of conversion in the following sentences, analyze the converted words according to the scheme:
- •III. Comment on the form and meaning of the following converted words, translate them into Russian:
- •IV. Translate the following sentences into English, use words from the previous exercise:
- •Seminar VI word-composition
- •Questions and Tasks
- •I. Consider your answers to the following:
- •II. Discriminate between compound words and free phrases:
- •III. Classify the compounds according to the meaning of their first component, state whether it denotes time, place, purpose, cause, property, etc.; translate them into Russian:
- •IV. Classify the compounds into motivated, partially motivated and idiomatic, translate them into Russian:
- •V. Analyze the following compounds according to the scheme:
- •Seminar VII Shortening and Secondary Ways of Word-Building
- •Questions and Tasks
- •I. Consider your answers to the following:
- •Seminar VIII Semantic Structure of English Words
- •Questions and Tasks
- •I. Consider your answers to the following:
- •II. For each example, say whether the result of the semantic shift is narrowing, widening, degeneration or amelioration.
- •III. Identify the type of semantic shift that has occurred in each case, choose either metaphor or metonymy:
- •Seminar IX Homonyms and Paronyms
- •Questions and Tasks
- •I. Consider your answers to the following:
- •II. Give perfect homonyms to the following words:
- •III. Find homophones to the following words, translate them into Russian or explain their meanings in English:
- •IV. Find homographs to the following words and transcribe both:
- •Seminar X Synonyms and Antonyms
- •Questions and Tasks
- •I. Consider your answers to the following:
- •IX. Give antonyms to the following words. Say whether they are derivational or absolute:
- •X. Classify the following antonyms according to their meaning into contradictory and contrary:
- •Seminar XI Word-Groups and Phraseological Units
- •Questions and Tasks
- •I. Consider your answers to the following:
- •II. Analyze the semantic structure of the phraseological units, give Russian equivalents:
- •III. Give English equivalents of the following Russian phraseological units, explain their meaning:
- •Questions and Tasks
- •I. Consider your answers to the following:
- •II. State which of the following words are used in America and which in England:
- •III. Translate the following words into English giving two variants – British and American:
- •IV. Point out words which have different meaning in BrE and AmE and those which have the same meaning in BrE and AmE but which have acquired an additional specific meaning in AmE:
- •Seminar XIII Lexicography
- •Questions and Tasks
- •The scheme of lexicological analysis
- •Examination questions
- •Bibliography
Questions and Tasks
I. Consider your answers to the following:
1. Why is it difficult to state the exact number of vocabulary units?
2. What are the extra-linguistic and linguistic causes of increasing MnE vocabulary?
3. What main changes occur in a language?
4. What is the basic word-stock? What features are characteristic of the basic word-stock? Why is the basic word-stock so important in learning a language?
5. Why do words become obsolete? When are obsolete words used? What are archaisms and historical words?
6. What is characteristic of neologisms?
7. What is the main difference between stylistically neutral and stylistically coloured words? What does this division depend on?
8. What is a functional style?
9. Into what groups is the English vocabulary divided from the stylistic point of view?
10. Which words belong to the formal vocabulary?
11. What is characteristic of learned words? Are they used only in books?
12. What are terms? What features should terms possess?
13. Which words belong to the informal vocabulary? What subgroups do informal words fall into?
14. What varieties of colloquial words are singled out?
15. What is slang? What varieties of slang can be found in English?
16. What is the difference between argot words and special slang words?
II. From the words given below pick out the archaic words and comment on their usage and meaning:
Even, evening, do, does, dost, you, thee, ye, thou, horse, mort, death, though, albeit, also, eke, spring, vernal, said, quoth, told, maiden, girl, haply, perhaps, ere, before.
III. In what meanings have the words “armory”, “affectionate”, “amiable”, “foison”, “impose”, “linsey-woolsey”, “rubric”, “alarm” become semantic archaisms?
IV. Give modern English equivalents of the following archaic words; classify them into lexical and grammatical archaisms; translate them into Russian:
Morn, spouse, bade, dire, didst, aught, quoth, kine, swain, courser, ire, charger, thy, thine, troth, hath, albeit.
V. Group the following neologisms according to the way of their formation; translate them into Russian:
Snowblade, realtor, lifting, prime time, multiplex, merchandiser, blackout, foodaholic, webinar, agrobiology, floppy drive, Blitzkrieg, photoshopping, nanotechnology, audiotyping, mini-cruize, smaze, gimmick, chav, brain tank, 5 o’clockish, technocriticism, consumerization, marginal man, truthiness, lifecasting, bookateria, googling, zizz, fingersmith, deflation, filmnik, no-goodnik, kleenex, to plug-in, laundromat, shuttle diplomacy, plus-size, to deglamorize, hoover, communication gap, hard-target search, frisbee, high profile, managerialist.
VI. Point out informal (slang or colloquial) or formal words from the following extracts. Write them out into three columns and give your reasons:
1. So there it was then: an enormous, happy, extended family. True, this happy family included an invisible two-year-old, a barmy twelve-year-old and his suicidal mother; but sod’s law dictated that this was just the sort of family you were bound to end up with when you didn’t like families in the first place. (N. Hornby “About a Boy”)
2. There was a shower right between every two rooms in our wing, and about eighty-five times a day old Ackley barged it on me. He was probably the only guy in the whole dorm, besides me, that wasn’t down at the game. He was a senior <…>, but nobody ever called him anything except ‘Ackley’. (J.D. Salinger “The Catcher in the Rye”)
3. “Dear Mr. Smith,
With reference to your order for Sony VCR, we are in receipt of your check and are returning same.
I beg to inform you that, as a manufacturer, our company sells cameras to dealers only. In compliance with our wholesale agreements, we deem it best to refrain from direct business with private consumers…”
4. “Dear Mr. North,
Thank you very much for your enquiry. We are of course very familiar with your range of vehicles and are pleased to inform you that we have a new line of batteries that fit your specifications exactly.
The most suitable of our products for your requirements is the Artemis 66A Plus. This product combines economy, high power output and quick charging time and is now in stock.
If you would like further information, please telephone or telex me…”