Word-Stock Stratification
Chronological stratification of the vocabulary is concerned with the change of vocabulary strata through time. The strata include the basic word-stock, as well as ‘old’ and ‘new’ words. With the course of time, words can move from one stratum to another.
Basic word-stock (nuclear words) is the chronologically stable stratum which includes widely used words that are reluctant to changes in the speech of two or more generations of speakers, e.g. Engl. I, you, man, people, table, apple, one, two, etc.
Historical words are ‘old’ words which have become obsolete because the entities they refer to are out of use, e.g. Russ. боярин, вече, опричник, буржуйка. Archaic words, or archaisms, are ‘old’ words which have become obsolete because they have been substituted by other words referring to the same entity. Thus, unlike historical words, archaic words have synonyms. Archaic words are ‘bookish’ lexical items mostly used in poetry. E.g. Engl. belike (perhaps), affright (alarm); Ukr. рамена (плечі), піїт (поет); Russ. перст (палец), длань (ладонь), выя (шея), щеки (ланиты), злато (золото), роща (дубрава), глас (голос). There are also archaic meanings of words, e.g. Russ. глагол (слово), живот (жизнь), пиво (любое питье).
New words, or neologisms, are the words and expressions which, being in currency of late, are not yet registered by dictionaries. Ukr. клип, iнтернет, фрейм; Engl. Euro, Euromeasure, push-button war, Monicagate, GorBush. Words can also acquire new meanings, e.g. Engl. globalization (‘the political movement aimed to unite the countries of the world’), Ukr. знакова подія, знакова фігура, братки. The creation of new words is a response to changed circumstances in the external world. Only some neologisms become permanent features of the language, but it is never possible to predict which will stay and which will die out.
While neologisms are used by many speakers, occasional words, or nonce words, are used only in the speech of individuals. These are words that a speaker conscientiously invents or accidentally uses on a single occasion, in order to solve an immediate problem of communication. E.g. Engl. circumtreeviation: ‘the way a dog on a lead tends to walk round a tree on the opposite side to the way its owner wants it to go’; Ukr. аркодужний, квітний цвіт (П. Тичина), білохатня вулиця, жовторжаве листя (М. Рильський); Russ. двухметроворостый, разулыбиться, молоткастый, серпастый (В. Маяковкий); Я влюблен, я очарован – словом, я огончарован (А. Пушкин); in child language: намакарониться, обтопаться, заблохатьться.
Stylistic stratification of the vocabulary represents the strata of words that are applied in different functional styles. The three basic strata are neutral words, bookish words and colloquial words.
Neutral words are stylistically unmarked; they can be used in any style, e.g. Engl. table, lamp, wall, tree, dog, man, book, red, blue, to move, to read, three, two, etc.; Ukr. стіл, лампа, стіна, дерево, людина, книга, червоний, синій, рухатись, читати, три, два і т.п.
Bookish words are restricted to formal, mostly written speech represented by academic, scholarly, publicistic, business and other types of discourses. These words are also typical of literary poetry. Among bookish words are:
Historical and archaic words (see above).
Terms (see below).
Exoticisms, the words that denote entities inherent in the material and spiritual culture of foreign countries. Such entities are not inherent in the culture of the speakers of language. Exoticisms are mostly represented by the names of plants, animals, artifacts, meals, and cultural notions. E.g. Engl. spaghetti, sushi, Buddha, ji-had, hara-kiri, borsh, valenki, samovar; Ukr. авокадо, томагавк, бумеранг, чадра, сарі, гондлоа, рікша, ковбой.
Colloquial words are restricted to informal spoken language. Application of colloquial words in formal speech should be avoided, as they tend to deviate from the standard norms. Colloquial words are subdivided into:
General slang (Ukr. просторiччя), the words and expressions which are widely applied by all speakers of language, so as to make the speech more informal, e.g. Engl. buddy, boss, bucks, bad egg ‘a repellent person’, rat ‘a wretched acting person’, two-timer ‘one who deceives one’s lover’; Ukr. гультяй ‘нероба’, байдикувати ‘нічого не робити’, Жигуль ‘Жигулі’, пацан ‘хлопець’; Russ. картошка, морковка, молокосос, балбес.
Dialectal words identify the regional, or geographical background of the user, e.g. Western Ukraine: файно, легінь, вуйко, літовище, склеп, доляри; Russia, Kuban: курень ‘казачий дом’, баз ‘двор’, справа ‘одежда казака’, кочет ‘пeтух’, жалмерка ‘солдатка’.
Professional words, or professionalisms, are the words from the basic word-stock that are frequently used by representatives of particular professions, and are specifically pronounced, e.g. Russ. компас (sailors), искра (drivers).
Special slang, or jargon, is the non-standard vocabulary, usually intelligible only to people from a particular social group, such as youth, students, doctors, military men, computer users, drug addicts, etc. Its chief function is to mark social identity – to show that one belongs – but it may also be used just to be different, to make an effect, or to be quite informal. E.g. Engl. (jargon of British military Air Force) kite ‘airplane’, groupy ‘Group Captain’, gen ‘information, instruction’, not to have clue ‘to be ignorant’; Ukr. (student jargon) пара, вікно, здавати хвости, школа ‘університет’; Russ (youth jargon) ништяк, чувиха, шузы, обломиться, металюги, ломануться,балдеть,хипарь; (jargon of computer users) жать батоны ‘нажимать на клавиши’, собака, ухо, обезьяна ‘символ @’, стервер ‘сервер’, междумордие ‘интерфейс’, матерная плата ‘материнская плата’, сиди Ромка ‘CD’. A specific type of jargon is cant, or argot / a:g t/, used by criminals, street gangs and ghetto groups. E.g. Engl. stick, rock, flute ‘a gang’; Russ. малина ‘воровской притон’, замочить ‘убить’, аржан ‘деньги’, пахан ‘главрь банды’, ломать каблук ‘изменять женщине’.
Vulgarisms, or obscenities, are crude words that cause offence and belong to the lowest stylistic register, e.g. English “four-letter words”; Ukr. харя, хавало, жерти, придурок, недоносок. Vulgarisms relate to dysphemisms / disf misms/, offensive or disparaging expressions used instead of neutral or pleasant ones, e.g. Engl. mug ‘face’, boneshaker ‘car’.
Taboos are words which people may not use without causing offence, because they refer to acts, objects, or relationships which are widely felt to be embarrassing, distasteful, or harmful. Verbal taboos are usually related to sex, the supernatural, excretion, and death, but in some cultures they extend to other aspects of domestic life (such as in-laws, private names, and certain animals). Vague or indirect words or expressions used in place of verbal taboos are called euphemisms / `ju:f∂mismz/. E.g. Engl. to pass away, to pass on ‘to die’, bathroom, restroom, ladies’ room, gents’ room ‘lavatory’, number one ‘urination’, number two ‘defecation’.