Министерство образования и науки РФ

Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное учреждение

высшего образования
«Иркутский государственный университет»
Педагогический институт
Кафедра иностранных языков и лингводидактики

А.В.Федорюк

A COURSEBOOK ON MODERN ENGLISH

LEXICOLOGY

Учебное пособие для студентов вузов

Иркутcк - 2016
УДК 802.0-3(075.8)
ББК Ш143.21-3-923
Ф33

Рекомендовано к печати Учебно-методическим советом Педагогического

института Иркутского государственного университета

Рецензенты: Н.М.Мокрецова, кандидат филологических наук,

доцент ФГКОУ ВО «Восточно-Сибирский институт МВД России»
М.В.Носкова, кандидат филологических наук,
доцент ФГБОУ ВО «Иркутский государственный университет»

Федорюк А.В. A Coursebook on Modern English Lexicology: Учебное пособие

для студентов вузов. – Иркутск: Издательство ООО «Репроцентр А1», 2016. –
208 c.
ISBN

Учебное пособие предназначено для студентов 3 курса очной и заочной

форм обучения направления 44.03.05 «Педагогическое образование».
Пособие охватывает всю программу курса лексикологии английского
языка и включает в себя теоретический материал, представленный в виде
текстов, лексический минимум и лексические упражнения к текстам,
практические задания, задания для самостоятельной работы и тесты,
позволяющие контролировать и углублять понимание языковых явлений.
Пособие может быть рекомендовано для аудиторной и самостоятельной
работы с целью повышения качества подготовки студентов.

ISBN © Федорюк А.В, 2016

© Иркутский государственный
университет, 2016

2
 ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ

Предисловие……………………………………………………………………….. .4
Unit 1. Lexicology is the Study of Words………………………………………… .5
Lecture 1. What is Lexicology? What is a Word?........................................................5
Unit 2. Lexicography……………………………………………………………….10
Lecture 2. Main Types of English Dictionaries…………………………………….. 10
Lecture 3. Modern Trends in English Lexicography……………………………….. 21
Unit 3. Word-Building…………………………………………………………….. 25
Lecture 4. Introduction. Affixation…………………………………………………. 25
Lecture 5. Semantics of Affixes……………………………………………………..32
Lecture 6. Conversion. Patterns of Conversion……………………………………...37
Lecture 7. Composition……………………………………………………………..50
Lecture 8. Shortening……………………………………………………………… .57
Lecture 9. Some of the Minor Types of Modern Word-Building…………………...66
Unit 4. Semasiology………………………………………………………………...67
Lecture 10. What is Meaning? The Semantic Structure of the Word……………….67
Lecture 11. Polysemy………………………………………………………………..73
Lecture 12. Transference Based on Resemblance (Similarity). Transference
Based on Contiguity…………………………………………………………………81
Lecture 13. Broadening (or Generalisation) of Meaning. Narrowing (or
Specialisation) of Meaning………………………………………………………….94
Lecture 14. Homonyms: Words of the Same Form. Classifications of
Homonyms………………………………………………………………………….106
Lecture 15. Sources of Homonymy………………………………………………...115
Lecture 16. Synonyms: Criteria of Synonymy……………………………………..125
Lecture 17. Types of Synonyms. The Dominant Synonym………………………..129
Lecture 18. Euphemisms…………………………………………………………...141
Lecture 19. Antonyms……………………………………………………………...159
Unit 5. Variants of the English Language……………………………………….165
Lecture 20. The Main Variants of the English Language………………………….165
Lecture 21. Do Americans Speak English or American?..........................................168
Unit 6. Texts for Analysis…………………………………………………………174
Appendix…………………………………………………………………………..178
Библиографический список……………………………………………………206

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 ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ

Настоящее учебное пособие разработано в соответствии с требованиями

образовательной программы подготовки бакалавров по направлению 44.03.05
Педагогическое образование, профиль Иностранный язык для дисциплины
«Лексикология» и направлено на формирование профессиональной
компетенции будущего специалиста, который готов использовать
систематизированные теоретические и практические знания о словарном
составе английского языка в его современном состоянии, в его социальной и
прагматической обусловленности для постановки и решения
исследовательских задач в области образования. Данный факт определяет цель,
структуру и содержание данного пособия.
Целью учебного пособия является закрепление и углубление
теоретических знаний основ лексикологии английского языка, развитие умений
и навыков анализа языкового материала.
Структура пособия представлена разделами по специальным темам
курса: ―Lexicology is the Study of Words‖, ―Lexicography‖, ―Word Building‖,
―Semasiology‖, ―Variants of the English Language‖ и разделом ―Тexts for
Analysis‖. Каждый тематический раздел включает в себя лексический
минимум (Vocabulary) к лекциям и текстам для самостоятельного изучения
(Reading), лексические упражнения к текстам и лекциям, вопросы для
поэтапной проработки теоретических положений, представленных в лекциях, а
также практические задания для самостоятельной работы (Practicum) и тесты
(Revision, Self Assessment Test), позволяющие контролировать и углублять
понимание языковых явлений. Заключительный раздел ―Texts for Analysis‖
обеспечивает повторение пройденного материала посредством комплексного
анализа текстов.
Значительное место в пособии занимают практические материалы для
самостоятельной работы, которые являются основным способом выработки
умений и приобретения навыков в работе с английским языком. Практические
задания призваны помочь студентам в практическом овладении основами
лексикологии английского языка при помощи упражнений и заданий разной
степени сложности, созданных на материале тщательно отобранных примеров
из художественных произведений современных авторов и писателей-классиков
Великобритании, США, Канады, Австралии, ЮАР, а также разнообразных
словарей английского языка, периодической печати, научных изданий и
электронных баз данных. Отбор примеров обусловливался учебно-
методическими задачами конкретных этапов освоения дисциплины,
опирающимися на требования вузовской программы. Предпочтение отдавалось
примерам, в которых анализируемая лексическая единица представлена не
изолированно, а в естественном лексико-грамматическом окружении.
Пособие снабжено приложениями к разделам ―Word Building‖,
―Semasiology‖ и ―Variants of the English Language‖.

4
 UNIT 1. LEXICOLOGY IS THE STUDY OF WORDS

Lecture1. What is Lexicology? What is a Word?

Vocabulary
to compose – составлять, состоять
to denote – означать, значить
to deal with – иметь дело с …
particular – особый
sound – звук
external – внешний
internal – внутренний
approach to – подход к
to constitute, to comprise образовывать
to distinguish – различать
root – корень
to possess – обладать
unity – единство
indivisibility – неделимость
constituent – составная часть
to acquire – приобретать
to violate – нарушать
due to – благодаря, вследствие
to consider – считать, подразумевать, полагать
to convey – выражать, передавать
syntagmatic – синтагматический
paradigmatic – парадигматический
linear – линейный
relationships with – отношения с …
neighbouring – соседний
synchronically – в синхронии т.е. синхронно
diachronically – в диахронии
to exist – существовать
derived word — a word formed or originated from another or from a root in the
same or another language.
back derivation — the formation of a word from the stem (base) of another word,
i.e. by means of cutting off suffixes (prefixes) from the source word.

Exercises
I. Study the text of lecture 1. Give English equivalents to the following words
and word-groups.
Основная единица, избегать, обозначать, составлять, морфологическая
структура слова, внешняя структура, внутренняя структура, семантическая

5
структура, формальное единство, словосочетание, составная часть, нарушать
единство, обладать характеристиками, неделимость, образующий составные
части, приобретать собственные грамматические формы, вставлять, живое
существо, передавать концепт, восприимчивость к …, парадигматический
уровень, синтагматический уровень, синхронический, диахронический.

II. Put in the missing prepositions. Use the lecture.

To be composed … two morphemes; the science … the word; to deal with different
properties of words; result … the association of a particular meaning … a particular
group of sounds; to be capable … a grammatical employment; to be represented …
the group of sounds; approach … the study; to be based … distinguishing between
the external and internal structures; to be referred … the word's semantic structure;
due … their meanings; to be inserted … the components; the word can be studied …
the syntagmatic and paradigmatic levels; … the paradigmatic level the word is
studied … its relationships … other words … the vocabulary system; … a given stage
… its development.

III. Choose false statements

1.The term ―lexicology‖ is composed of two Latin morphemes: lexis denoting ‗word‘
and logos denoting ―learning‖. 2. Lexicology is one of the branches of linguistics
dealing with different properties of sounds of a language. 3The term ―word‖ denotes
the basic unit of a language resulting from the association of a particular meaning
with a particular group of sounds capable of a particular grammatical employment. 4.
The modern approach to the study of words is based on distinguishing between the
external and internal structures. 5.The external structure of the word is its semantic
structure. 6.The internal structure of the word is its morphological structure. 7.
Formal unity of the word is sometimes interpreted as indivisibility. 8.By semantic
unity of a word its conceptual unity is meant. 9.The word can be studied on the
syntagmatic and paradigmatic levels. 10.On the syntagmatic level the semantic
characteristics of the word are observed, described and studied on the basis of its
typical contexts. 11. On the paradigmatic level the word is studied in its linear
relationships with neighbouring words in connected speech. 12. The word can be
studied synchronically and diachronically. 13.The synchronic approach is concerned
with the vocabulary of a language as it exists at a given period of time, e. g. at the
present time. 14. The diachronic approach in terms of the word deals with the context
of the processes through which it grew, developed and acquired its modern form and
is concerned with the changes and the development of vocabulary in the course of
time.
IV. Study the text of lecture 1 and complete the sentences
1.The term ―lexicology‖ is composed of two Greek morphemes … . 2.In modern
linguistics lexicology is one of the branches of science dealing with … . 3.The term
―word‖ denotes … . 4. The word is materially represented by … . 5.There is a direct
relation between the word and the …. 6. The modern approach to the study of words
is based on … . 7. The external structure of the word is … . 8. The internal structure
of the word is … . 8.The word possesses both external (or formal) unity and .. . 9.
6
Formal unity of the word is sometimes interpreted as … . 10.By semantic unity of a
word we mean its … . 11. The word can be studied on the syntagmatic and .. . levels.
12. On the syntagmatic level, the word is analysed in its linear relationships with
neighbouring words in …. 13.On the paradigmatic level, the word is studied in its
relationships with other words in … . 14.The word can be studied synchronically and
… . 15.The synchronic approach is concerned with the vocabulary of a language as it
exists at … . 16. The diachronic approach in terms of the word deals with the changes
and the development of vocabulary in … .

V. Identify the internal and external structures of the following words.

Opposition, uncertainty, employment, unearthing, communication, accidental.

VI. Translate from Russian into English

1. Лексикология – раздел языкознания. 2. Лексикология – наука о слове. 3.
Слово – фундаментальная единица языка. 4. Слово – единица общения. 5.
Слово – единица, материально представленная группой звуков. 6. Различают
внутреннюю и внешнюю структуру слова. 7. Внешняя структура слова – это его
морфологическая структура. 8. Внутренняя структура слова – это значение
слова, т.е. его семантическая структура. 9. Семантическую структуру можно
изучать на синтагматическом и парадигматическом уровне. 10.На
синтагматическом уровне семантическая структура слова анализируется в
связях данного слова с соседними словами в связной речи. 11. На
парадигматическом уровне слово изучается в его связях с другими словами в
системе языка. 12.Слово обладает единством формы и содержания, т.е.
формальным (структурным) и семантическим единством. 13. Структурное
единство слова – это его неделимость. 14. Семантическое единство слова – это
его концептуальное единство. 15. Слово передает один концепт, а
словосочетание передает два и более концепта. 16. Лексикология изучает
словарный состав языка. 17. Существуют два подхода к изучению словарного
состава языка: диахронический и синхронический. 18. Синхронический подход
состоит в том, что словарный состав языка изучается на данном этапе его
развития. 19. Диахронический подход подразумевает изучение словарного
состава языка в процессе его развития.

VII. Questions for discussion

1. What Greek morphemes is the term ‗lexicology‘ composed of?
2. What does lexicology study?
3. What does the term ‗word‘ denote?
4. What are the principal approaches in linguistic science to the study of language
material?
5.What is the literal meaning of the term ‗synchronic‘ which is Greek by origin?
6. What is the synchronic approach concerned with?
7.What is the literal meaning of the term ‗diachronic‘ which is Greek by origin?
8.What does the diachronic approach deal with?

7
9.Why are the synchronic and the diachronic approaches interconnected and
interdependent? Give an example.
Reading
Text ―Modern English Lexicology‖
Vocabulary

to modify – to change smth.

irrespective of –not taking (something) into account; regardless of
origin – происхождение
inherent – essential, fundamental, basic
manifold – numerous
isolated – single
to bear – carry, bring, convey
to conform – to be in accordance with
to treat – to consider
issue–subject that people discuss or argue about, especially
relating to society, politics etc
replenishment – filling again by supplying what has been used up
to dwell upon – to consider
to obtain – to get something, especially by asking for it

The general study of words and vocabulary, irrespective of the specific features
of any particular language, is known as General Lexicology.
Special Lexicology is the lexicology of a particular language (e.g. English,
Russian, etc.), i. e. the study and description of its words and vocabulary. Special
Lexicology may be historical and descriptive. The evolution of any vocabulary, as
well as of its single elements forms the object of Historical Lexicology. This branch
of linguistics deals with the origin of various words, their change and development,
and investigates the linguistic and extra linguistic forces modifying their structure,
meaning and usage. In the past historical treatment was always
combined with the comparative method.
Descriptive Lexicology deals with the vocabulary of a given language at a
given stage of its development. It studies the functions of words and their specific
structure as a characteristic inherent in the system.
Lexicology has close ties with other branches of linguistics as they also take
into account words in one way or another approaching them from different angles.
There is a relationship between lexicology and phonetics since phonetics is also
concerned with the study of the word, i.e. with the sound form of the word. A close
connection between lexicology and grammar is conditioned by the manifold ties
between the objects of their study. Even isolated words as presented in a dictionary
bear a definite relation to the grammatical system of the language because they
belong to some part of speech and conform to some lexico grammatical
characteristics of the word class to which they belong.

8
 Lexicology is linked with the history of a language since the latter investigates
the changes and the development of the vocabulary of a language. There is also a
close relationship between lexicology and stylistics. Stylistics studies many problems
treated in lexicology. These are the problems of meaning, synonymy, differentiation
of vocabulary according to the sphere of communication and some other issues.
Lexicology is bound up with sociolinguistics. Sociolinguistics investigates the extra
linguistic or social causes of the changes in the vocabulary of a language. The word
stock of a language directly and immediately reacts to changes in social life. The
intense development of science and technology, which is a social, i.e. an extra
linguistic factor, has lately given birth to a great number of new words, e.g.: CD
ROM (‗compact disc read only
memory: a CD on which large quantities of information can be stored to be used by a
computer, etc.‘), email (‗a system that allows you to send and receive messages by
computer‘), SMS (‗technical short message service: a method of sending a text
message to a mobile phone‘).
Modern English Lexicology aims at giving a systematic description of the
word stock of Modern English. Words, their component parts — morphemes — and
various types of word groups, are subjected to structural and semantic analysis
primarily from the synchronic angle. Thus, Modern English Lexicology investigates
the problems of word structure and word formation in Modern English, the semantic
structure of English words, the main principles underlying
the classification of vocabulary units into various groupings, the laws governing the
replenishment of the vocabulary with new vocabulary units.
Modern English Lexicology studies the relations between various layers of the
English vocabulary and the specific laws and regulations that govern its development
at the present time. The source and growth of the English vocabulary, the changes it
has undergone in its history are also dwelt upon. The course of Modern English
Lexicology is of great practical importance as the language learner will obtain much
valuable information concerning the English word stock and the laws and regulations
governing the formation and usage of English words and word groups.
There are several branches in lexicology. The area of lexicology specializing in
the semantic studies of the word is called semasiology.
Phraseology is the branch of lexicology specializing in word-groups which are
characterized by stability of structure and transferred meaning, e. g. to take the bull
by the horns, to see red, birds of a feather, etc. .
The branch of lexicology that studies various ways of word formation is called
word-building. Lexicography is the branch of lexicology that deals with compiling
dictionaries.
Exercises
I. Give Russian equivalents to the following words and word-groups. Use the
text
Forces modifying the structure, irrespective of the specific features, a characteristic
inherent in the system, to approach from different angles; manifold ties, isolated, to
bear a definite relation to the grammatical system, to conform to some lexico
grammatical characteristics of the word class, problems treated in lexicology,
9
issue, the replenishment of the vocabulary ,to dwell upon, to obtain much valuable
information.

II. Translate from Russian into English.

1. Существуют несколько разделов в лексикологии. 2. Раздел лексикологии,
изучающий семантику слов, называется семасиологией. 3.Раздел лексикологии,
изучающий фразеологические единицы, называется фразеологией. 4. Слова
или словосочетания, которые характеризуются устойчивостью структуры и
переносным значением, называются фразеологическими единицами 5. Раздел
лексикологии, изучающий различные способы образования новых слов,
называется словообразованием. 6. Раздел лексикологии, специализирующийся
на составлении словарей, называется лексикографией.

III. Questions for discussion

1. What is the object of study of General Lexicology?
2. What does Special Lexicology study?
3. What forms the object of study of Historical Lexicology?
4. What does Descriptive Lexicology deal with?
5. What does Modern English Lexicology aim at?
6. What problems does Modern English Lexicology investigate?
7. What section is also traditionally included in a course of Lexicology? Why?
8. Why is the course of Modern English Lexicology of great practical importance
for the language learner?

UNIT 2. LEXICOGRAPHY
Lecture 2. Main Types of English Dictionaries

Vocabulary
To compile – составлять
encyclopedic – энциклопедический
linguistic – лингвистический
reference book – справочник
entry, item – словарная статья
subject matter – предмет(дискуссии, науки), содержание, тема
peculiarities – особенности
to deal with – иметь дело с …
to enter items – вносить, вписывать (в книгу) словарные статьи
designative – указательный, обозначающий
to coincide – совпадать
to confine – ограничивать
extensive – обширный
to disclose – обнаруживать, показывать
treatment – лечение
remedy – лекарство, лечебное средство

10
to be intended – намереваться
all-round – всесторонний
notable – выдающийся
to be bound up – быть связанным
to overlap – частично совпадать
to indicate – указывать
domain – область, сфера
compiler – составитель
inclusion – включение
to exclude – исключать

Exercises
I. Study the text of Lecture 2 and give Russian equivalents to the following
words and word groups
Choice of items, word books, thing-books, linguistic properties, peculiarities of
use, pronunciation, extra-linguistic world, designative character, biographical entries,
to disclose the causes, various treatments and remedies, all-round use, field of
knowledge, to overlap, origin of the word, domain of linguistics, definition,
respective concept, dictionary compiler, word-list, birth and death dates, brief
description, to devote.

II. Study the text of Lecture 2 and give English equivalents to the following

11
words and word groups
Справочник, словарная статья, лингвистические свойства, особенности
употребления, иметь дело с концептами и явлениями, отношения с другими
явлениями, указательный характер, научные термины, названия болезней,
совпадать, показывать причины, различное лечение, предназначаться для
студентов, всестороннее использование, тесно связаны, частично совпадать,
происхождение слова, с другой стороны, неизбежный, составитель словаря.

III. Put in the missing prepositions. Use the text of lecture 2.

To give information … the extra-linguistic world, to deal … concepts, the relations
… other objects, remedy …a disease, to be intended … students, to be designed …
all-round use, to be confined …definite fields … knowledge, to belong … the domain
of linguistics, … the other hand, to differ … a short logical definition, to include …
the word-list, … practical purposes, it is common practice … British lexicographers,
to exclude … the dictionaries, to devote maximum space … linguistic properties …
words, to be classified … different heads.

IV. Choose false statements

1. The encyclopedic and linguistic dictionaries differ only in the choice of items
included. 2. The linguistic dictionaries are thing-books. 3. The subject matter of the
linguistic dictionaries is concepts, objects, phenomena and their relations to other
objects and phenomena. 4. The encyclopedic dictionaries contain items of designative
character. 5. The information about some items presented in the encyclopedic and
linguistic dictionaries coincide. 6. ―Collier‘s Encyclopedia‖ is intended for all-round
use. 7. Besides the general encyclopedic dictionaries there are reference books that
deal with definite fields of knowledge. 8. Who is Who? dictionaries present
information about notable persons. 9. The encyclopedic and linguistic dictionaries
often overlap. 10. The British dictionaries are characterized by encyclopedic
inclusion of scientific, technical, geographical and bibliographical items whereas
American lexicographers usually exclude from their dictionaries information of this
kind.

V. Study lecture 2 and complete the sentences

1. All English dictionaries can be classified in: … …. . 2. These two groups of
reference books differ in the choice of items included and in the …. . 3. Linguistic
dictionaries are … …. . 4. The subject matter of the linguistic dictionaries is lexical
units and their linguistic properties such as …. . 5. The encyclopedic dictionaries are
… books. 6. The Encyclopedic dictionaries give information about … …. . 7. The
encyclopedic dictionaries deal with … 8. The encyclopedic dictionaries enter items
only of designative character, such as …. . 9. Although some of the items included in
the encyclopedic and linguistic dictionaries coincide, the information presented in
them is …. 10. The most well known encyclopedias in English are … . 11. Collier‘s
Encyclopedia is intended for … … . 12. Chamber‘s Encyclopedia is a family type …
. 13. Everyman‘s Encyclopedia is designed for … . 14. American dictionaries are
characterized by encyclopedic inclusion of scientific, technical, geographical and
12
bibliographical … .

VI. Questions for discussion.

1. What types can all English dictionaries be divided into? 2. What do the two groups
of dictionaries differ in? 3. Are linguistic dictionaries word -books or thing- books? 4.
What is the subject matter of the linguistic dictionaries? 5. What information do the
encyclopedic dictionaries give? 6. What do the encyclopedic dictionaries deal with?
7. What items do the encyclopedic dictionaries enter? 8. Is the information presented
in the encyclopedic and linguistic dictionaries different or the same? 9. What are the
most well known English encyclopedic dictionaries? 10. How are dictionaries
presenting information about notable persons called? 11. Why do the encyclopedic
and linguistic dictionaries often overlap? 12. What is the difference between
American and British dictionaries?

Reading
Text ―Linguistic Dictionaries‖

Vocabulary
General dictionary – всеобщий словарь
restricted dictionary – ограниченный словарь
definition – определение
word-stock – запас слов
restriction – ограничение
compiler – составитель (словаря)
to determine – определять
frequency – частотность
explanatory – толковый
to contain – содержать
to provide – обеспечивать
range – сфера, зона, область, круг
data – данные
explanation – пояснение
abbreviation – сокращение
to treat – относиться
to explain – объяснять
usage – использование
distinct from- отличный от …
to concern – иметь отношение, касаться
to occur –встречаться, происходить
abridgment – сокращенное издание
to insert – вставлять, вносить (запись)
to trace – прослеживать
cross-section – поперечный срез
to meet the demands – отвечать требованиям
13
to edit – редактировать, готовить к печати
to accumulate- to heap up
value – ценность
proverb – пословица
profuse adj. – plentiful
to ensure – обеспечивать, гарантировать
quotation – цитата
reflection – отражение
substandard – ненормированный
curse words – ругательные слова
to supply – to provide
to handle – to manage, to discuss (subject), to treat, to deal with
abusage – злоупотребление
stretch – поток
expert adj. – опытный, (высоко)квалифицированный
borrowing заимствование
to point out – указывать, подчеркивать
cognate languages – родственные языки
to seek – to search
underworld – преступный мир
thesaurus – тезаурус т.е. словарь языка с полной смысловой информацией

A linguistic dictionary is a book of words in a language, usually listed

alphabetically, with definitions, pronunciations, etymologies and other linguistic
information or with their equivalents in another language.
Linguistic dictionaries may be divided into different categories by different
criteria.
I. According to the scope of their word-list we may speak about general
dictionaries on the one hand, and restricted on the other.
The terms general and restricted do not refer to the size of the dictionary or to
the number of items listed. What is meant is that the former contain lexical units in
ordinary use with this or that proportion of items from various spheres of life, while
the latter make their choice only from a certain part of the word-stock; the restriction
being based on any principle is determined by the compiler.
General dictionaries represent the vocabulary as a whole with a degree of
completeness depending upon the scope and the bulk of the book in question. Some
general dictionaries may have very specific aims and still be considered general due
to their coverage. They include frequency dictionary, a rhyming dictionary, a
Thesaurus, etc., e.g. the Collins COBULD Thesaurus.
Restricted dictionaries cover only a certain specific part of the vocabulary.
Restricted dictionaries can be subdivided depending on whether the words are chosen
according to 1) the sphere of human activity in which they are used 2) the type of the
units themselves 3) or the relations existing between them.
The first subgroup registers and explains technical terms for various branches
of knowledge (medical, linguistic, economical terms, etc.), e.g. the Merriam-
14
Webster’s Dictionary of Law. The second subgroup deals with specific language
units, i.e. with phraseological uints, abbreviations, neologisms, borrowings, dialectal
words, proverbs and sayings, e.g. Oxford Concise Dictionary of Proverbs. The third
subgroup contains a formidable array of synonymic dictionaries, e.g. the Merriam
Webster’s Pocket Guide to Synonyms.
II. According to the information they provide all linguistic dictionaries fall into
explanatory and specialized.
Explanatory dictionaries present a wide range of data, especially with regard
to the semantic aspect of the vocabulary items entered. It is common practice to call
such word-books English-English dictionaries. The English words treated are
explained in the same language, which is typical not only of this type of dictionaries
(cf. synonym-books). Explanatory dictionaries may be big and small, compiled in
English-speaking countries. These dictionaries provide information on all aspects of
the lexical units entered: graphical, phonetic, grammatical, semantic, stylistic,
etymological, etc., e.g. New Oxford Dictionary of English.
Specialized dictionaries deal with lexical units only in relation to some of
their characteristics, e.g. only in relation to their etymology or frequency, or
pronunciation. Let‘s describe some types of specialized dictionaries.
Phraseological dictionaries in England and America have accumulated vast
collections of idiomatic or colloquial phrases, proverbs and other, usually image-
bearing word-groups with profuse illustrations. An Anglo-Russian Phraseological
Dictionary by A. V. Koonin published in our country has many advantages over the
reference books published abroad and can be considered the first dictionary of
English phraseology proper. To ensure the highest possible cognitive value and quick
finding of necessary phrases the dictionary enters phrase variants and structural
synonyms, distinguishes between polysemantic and homonymic phrases, shows
word- and form-building abilities of phraseological units and illustrates their use by
quotations.
New Words dictionaries have it as their aim adequate reflection of the
continuous growth of the English language. The Barnhart Dictionary of New English
covers words, phrases, meanings and abbreviations which came into the vocabulary
of the English language during the period 1983—2002. The new items were collected
from the reading of over half a million running words from US, British and Canadian
sources—newspapers, magazines and books.
Dictionaries of slang contain elements from areas of substandard speech such
as vulgarisms, jargonisms, taboo words, curse-words, colloquialisms, etc. The most
well-known dictionaries of the type are Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional
English by E. Partridge, Dictionary of the Underworld: British and American, The
American Thesaurus of Slang by L. V. Berry & M. Den Bork, The Dictionary of
American Slang by H. Wentworth and S. B. Flexner.
Usage dictionaries make it their business to pass judgment on usage problems
of all kinds, on what is right or wrong. Designed for native speakers they supply
much various information on such usage problems as, e.g., the difference in meaning
between words like comedy, farce and burlesque, illusion and delusion, formality and
formalism, the proper pronunciation of words like foyer, yolk, nonchalant, the plural
15
forms of the nouns flamingo, radix, commander-in- chief the meaning of foreign
words. They also explain what is meant by neologisms, archaisms; colloquial and
slang words and how one is to handle them; etc. The most widely used usage guide is
the classic Dictionary of Modern English Usage by JV. W. Fowler. Based on it are
Usage and Abusage, and Guide to Good English by E. Partridge, A Dictionary of
American English Usage by M. Nicholson, and others. Perhaps the best usage
dictionary is A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage by B. Evans and C.
Evans.
Dictionaries of word-frequency inform the user as to the frequency of
occurrence of lexical units in speech, to be more exact in the corpus of the reading
matter or in the stretch of oral speech on which the word-counts are based. Most
frequency dictionaries and tables of word frequencies published in English-speaking
countries were constructed to make up lists of words considered suitable as the basis
for teaching English as a foreign language, the so-called basic vocabulary. Such are,
e.g., the E. Throndike dictionaries and M. West's General Service List.
Pronouncing dictionaries record contemporary pronunciation. As compared
with the phonetic characteristics of words given by other dictionaries the information
provided by pronouncing dictionaries is much more detailed; they indicate variant
pronunciations (which are numerous in some cases), as well as the pronunciation of
different grammatical forms. The world famous English Pronouncing Dictionary by
Daniel Jones is considered to provide the most expert guidance on British English
pronunciation. The most popular dictionary for the American variant is A
Pronouncing Dictionary of American English by J. S. Kenyon and T. A. Knott.
Etymological dictionaries trace present-day words to the oldest forms
available, establish their primary meanings and give the parent form reconstructed by
means of the comparative-historical method. In case of borrowings they point out the
immediate source of borrowing, its origin and parallel forms in cognate languages.
The most authoritative of these is nowadays the newly-published Oxford Dictionary
of English Etymology edited by C. T. Onions. Quite popular is the famous
Etymological English Dictionary by W. W. Skeat compiled at the beginning of the 20
th century and published many times.
Ideographic dictionaries designed for English-speaking writers, orators or
translators seeking to express their ideas adequately contain words grouped by the
concepts expressed. The world famous ideographic dictionary of English is P. M.
Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. Besides the most important and
widely used types of English dictionaries discussed above there are some others, such
as synonym-books, spelling reference books, hard-words dictionaries, etc..
III. According to the language of explanation, i.e. whether the information
about the items entered given in the same language or in another language all
dictionaries are divided into: monolingual or bilingual.
In monolingual dictionaries the words and the information about them are
given in the same language, e.g. the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.
Bilingual dictionaries are those that explain words by giving their equivalents
in another language, e.g. the English-Russian Phraseological Dictionary (by A.V.
Koonin). Many English-Russian and Russian-English dictionaries have been made in
16
our country to meet the demands of language students and those who use English in
their work. The most representative translation dictionaries for English are the New
English Russian Dictionary edited by Prof. I, R. Galperin, the English-Russian
Dictionary by Prof. V. K. Muller and The Russian-English Dictionary under prof. A.
I. Smirnitsky's general direction.
IV.Dictionaries also fall into diachronic and synchronic with regard to time.
Most of the dictionaries deal with the form, usage and meaning of lexical units
in Modern English, regarding it as a stabilized system and taking no account of its
past development. They are synchronic in their presentation of words as distinct from
diachronic, those concerned with the development of words occurring within the
written history of the language. For instance, the New English Dictionary on
Historical Principles commonly abbreviated in NED and its abridgement The Shorter
Oxford Dictionary on Historical Principles (SOD) cover the history of the English
vocabulary from the days of King Alfred down to the present time: they are
diachronic, whereas another abridgement of the NED—the Concise Oxford
Dictionary of Current English (COD) as well as H. C. Wyld's Universal Dictionary
of the English Language are synchronic. Other series of synchronic explanatory
dictionaries are Webster dictionaries.
It should be noted that brief remarks of historical and etymological nature
inserted in dictionaries like the COD do not make them diachronic. Moreover,
dictionaries, of a separate historical period, such as Anglo-Saxon Dictionary by J.
Bosworth and T. N. Toller, which is sometimes called historical, cannot be strictly
speaking referred to diachronic word-books. They do not trace the evolution of the
language, but study a synchronic cross-section, i.e. the words of a historical period
are regarded from a synchronic angle.

Exercises
I. Give Russian equivalents to the following words and word –groups. Use the
text.
Listed alphabetically, etymology, general dictionary, restricted dictionary, on the
one hand, on the other hand, to refer to the items listed, lexical units in ordinary use,
to make one‘s choice, principle determined by the compiler, to provide data,
explanatory dictionary, compiled in English speaking countries, to deal with usage, to
take no account of, to occur, distinct, abridgement, to trace the evolution, from a
synchronic angle, cross-section, to meet the demands, under one‘s general direction,
to accumulate, proverb, image bearing word-groups, profuse, to ensure, the cognitive
value, to distinguish, homonymic, form-building abilities, quotation, new words
dictionary, continuous growth, running words, substandard speech, curse words,
unconventional English, underworld, usage dictionary, to pass judgment, to supply
information, to handle, usage, abusage, frequency of occurrence, stretch of oral
speech, to indicate, to provide the expert guidance, to trace the present-day words, to
give the parent form, comparative-historical method, to point out the immediate
source of borrowing, cognate languages.

II. Give English equivalents to the following words and word- groups. Use the
17
text.
Располагать в алфавитном порядке, с одной стороны, с другой стороны,
всеобщие словари, ограниченные словари, обычное употребление, последний
(из двух названных), первый (из дух названных), принцип, определенный
составителем; обеспечивать информацией, широкий круг данных,
относительно, словарь частотности, толковый словарь, англоязычные страны,
предоставлять информацию по всем аспектам, употребление, принимать во
внимание, синхронический, диахронический, встречаться, сокращенный,
сокращенное издание, до настоящего времени, поперечный срез, с точки зрения
синхронии, словарная статья, отвечать требованиям, самый представительный
словарь, редактированный, под руководством, пословица, образные
словосочетания, богатые иллюстрации, быстрое нахождение, цитата,
ненормированная речь, ругательные слова, слова, находящиеся в обращении;
преступный мир, неправильное употребление, частотность употребления,
установить первоначальное значение, дать исходную форму, сравнительно-
исторический метод, установить источник заимствования, родственные языки,
в начале века.

III. Put in the missing prepositions. Use the text

Equivalents … another language, to be divided … different categories … different
criteria, … the one hand, to refer … the size of the dictionary, items … various
spheres of life, the restriction being based … any principle determined … the
compiler, to provide information … all aspects, according … the information, with
regard … the semantic aspect, to deal … lexical units; they are synchronic … their
presentation; to be concerned … the development … words; to be commonly
abbreviated … NED; to cover the history … the days of King Alfred down … the
present time; to be inserted …dictionaries; to be referred … diachronic dictionaries;
to be regarded … a synchronic angle; to be edited … ; … general direction; to have
many advantages … the reference books published abroad; to distinguish …
polysemantic and homonymic phrases; to illustrate the use … quotations; reflection
… the continuous growth … the English language; to come .. the vocabulary; to
collect items … British and Canadian sources; to pass judgment … usage problems;
to supply information … usage problems; the difference … meaning; to provide the
guidance … British English pronunciation; the parent form reconstructed … means
… the comparative-historical method; … the beginning … the century; words
grouped … the concepts expressed.

IV. Complete the sentences. Use the text

1. A linguistic dictionary is a book of words in a language usually listed
alphabetically with … . 2. Linguistic dictionaries may be divided into different
categories by … . 3. The four criteria by which all linguistic dictionaries can be
divided are: the scope of their word-list, the information supplied, the language of
explanation and … . 4. According to the to the scope of the word-list linguistic
dictionaries can be divided into general dictionaries and … . 5. The general
dictionaries represent the vocabulary as a … . 6. The restricted dictionaries cover
18
only a… . 7. The restriction in the restricted dictionaries is based on any principle
determined by the… . 8. According to the information the linguistic dictionaries
provide they can be divided into explanatory and … . 9. Explanatory dictionaries
present a wide range of data, especially with regard to the … . 10. Specialized
dictionaries deal with lexical units only in relation to … . 11. According to the
language of the explanation all types of linguistic dictionaries may be … . 12. The
synchronic dictionaries deal with the form, usage and …. 13. The diachronic
dictionaries are concerned with the development of words occurring within … . 14.
Phraseological dictionaries have accumulated vast collections of …. 15. New words
dictionaries reflect the … . 16. Dictionaries of slang contain vulgarisms, jargonisms,
taboo words … . 17. Usage dictionaries supply much various information on … . 18.
Dictionaries of word frequency inform the user about … . 14. Pronouncing
dictionaries record … . 19. Etymological dictionaries trace … . 20. Ideographic
dictionaries contain … .

V. Transcribe the following words

Farce, burlesque, foyer, yolk, nonchalant, thesaurus.

VI. Match the type of the linguistic dictionary with the criterion of division.
1. provided information a)monolingual and bilingual
2. language of explanation b)general and restricted
3. the scope of their word-list c)explanatory and specialized

VII. Questions for discussion.

1. What book is a linguistic dictionary? 2. What criteria may all linguistic dictionaries
be divided into different categories by? 3. What types of dictionaries may be
distinguished according to the scope of the word-list? 4. Do the terms ―general‖ and
―restricted‖ refer to the size of the dictionary? 5. Do the general dictionaries contain
lexical units in ordinary use from different spheres of life? 6. Who determines the
principle of the word-stock‘s restriction in the restricted dictionaries? 7 What
criterion is the division of dictionaries into explanatory and specialized based on? 8.
What dictionaries are there according to the language of explanation? 9. What is the
difference between the monolingual and explanatory dictionaries? 10. What
information do the explanatory dictionaries provide? 11. The synchronic explanatory
dictionaries regard English vocabulary as a stabilized system, don‘t they? 12. What
synchronic dictionaries do you know? 13. What information do the diachronic
dictionaries contain? 14. Who are the ideographic dictionaries designed for? 15. What
do the pronouncing dictionaries record? 16. What is the most popular dictionary for
the American English pronunciation? 17. Does an Anglo-Russian Phraseological
Dictionary by A.V.Koonin have many advantages over the dictionaries published
abroad? 18. What is the aim of new words dictionaries? 19. What problems do the
usage dictionaries supply much information on? 20. What are the most widely used
usage dictionaries?

VIII. Match the specialized dictionaries with their subject matters

19
1. Phraseological dictionaries a) contain words grouped by the
2. Dictionaries of word - frequency concepts expressed
3. Usage dictionaries b) trace present- day words to the
oldest forms available
4. Dictionaries of slang c) record contemporary pronunciation
5.Etymological dictionaries d) inform the user about the frequency
6. Pronouncing dictionaries of occurrence of lexical units in speech
7. Ideographic dictionaries
8. New words dictionaries e) explain difference in meaning, what is
meant by neologisms, archaisms
f)contain elements from areas of
substandard speech
g) have accumulated vast collections
of idioms, proverbs
h) reflect the continuous growth of the
English language

Practicum
I. Classify the given dictionaries into two groups: a) encyclopedic dictionaries b)
linguistic dictionaries
Model: The Concise Oxford Dictionary
The Concise Oxford Dictionary is a linguistic dictionary
NTC‘s Dictionary of American Spelling; The Collins Dictionary of Allusions; The
Longman Dictionary of the English Language; The Oxford Companion to English
Literature; The Dictionary of Literary Terms; The Concise Oxford Dictionary;
Brewer‘s Dictionary of 20th century Phrase and Fable; The Collins COBUILD
Roget‘s International Thesaurus; The Merriam Webster‘s Geographical Dictionary;
The Cambridge Guide to Fiction in English; The Cambridge International Dictionary
of Idioms; The Cassel Companion to 20 th century Music; Random House Webster‘s
Dictionary of American Slang.

II. State which type the given linguistic dictionary refer to: general – restricted;
explanatory – specialized; monolingual – bilingual; diachronic – synchronic
Model: The Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs
The Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs is a restricted, explanatory, monolingual,
synchronic word-book
1)The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology; 2) the Penguin Dictionary
of English Idioms; 3) the New Oxford Dictionary of English; 4) the Modern English-
Russian Dictionary; 5) the Longman Language Activator; 6) the English-Russian
Dictionary of Linguistics and Semiotics; 7) the English Pronouncing Dictionary; 8)
the Longman Business English Dictionary; 9) the New Oxford Thesaurus English;
10) a Dictionary of Neologisms; 11) the BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English

20
 Lecture 3. Modern Trends in English Lexicography

Vocabulary
a corpus(sing.) – корпус
corpora (pl.) - корпусы
discourse – дискурс
confident – certain that something will happen or that something is true
domain – oбласть знаний, сфера, поле деятельности
to permit – to allow
to align – to support an idea, plan or person
extract - a particular part of a book, poem, etc. that is chosen so that it can be used in
a discussion, article, etc.:
precise – exact, accurate, and careful about details
a diverse – разнообразный
far-reaching – extensive in influence, effect, or range
sophisticated – experienced, very advanced
index – indices (pl.)
retrieval – the process of getting something back that was lost or not in its usual place
to cross-refer – дать ссылку
emphasis – ударение, акцент
layout – the way in which the words and pictures on a page are arranged
to supplement – to add an extra element or amount to
sample – a small part or quantity intended to show what the whole is like

Notes to the lecture:

Dictionaries
COBUILD English Dictionary (COBUILD is an acronym for Collins Birmingham
University International Language Database)
The Oxford Advanced Learner‘s Dictionary of Current English
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Corpora
1. The Bank of English
2. The British National Corpus (http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/)
3. The Longman Corpus Network.
 The Longman Learners‘ Corpus
 The Longman Written American Corpus
 The Longman Spoken American Corpus
 The Spoken British Corpus
 The Longman Lancaster Corpus
On-line Dictionaries:
1. The Oxford English Dictionary Online,
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary,
2. The Cambridge Dictionaries Online (including Cambridge Advanced Learner‘s
21
 Dictionary,
3. Cambridge Dictionary of American English,
4. Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms, etc.),
5. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

Reading

Text ―CD-ROM Dictionaries‖

Among the CD-ROM dictionaries there are the following: the Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English on CD-ROM, the Cambridge International
Dictionary of English on CD-ROM, the Collins COBUILD on CD-ROM, the Concise
Oxford Dictionary on CD-ROM, and many others.
In most cases CD-ROM dictionaries are electronic versions of the printed
reference books supplemented by more visual information, pronunciation, interactive
exercises and games and allowing the user to carry out searches impossible with the
book dictionaries.
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English on CD-ROM differs from
the paper dictionary in the following way: 1) every word is pronounced in British and
American English. A user can also record his/her own pronunciation and compare it
with the accepted form; 2) it gives 15000 word origins or etymologies and contains
7000 encyclopedic entries for people, places, and things, taken from the Longman
Dictionary of English Language and Culture; 3) there are 80 000 additional
examples given in the Longman Examples Bank; 4) over a million corpus sentences
are included for every advanced learners and teachers of English; 5) it contains
150 000 extra words (collocates) that are used with the headword; 6) it has the
Activator section which is very helpful in choosing the right word in this or that
context and provides essay writing technique; 7) there are a lot of interactive
activities in grammar, vocabulary, culture, as well as exam practice exercises.
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English on CD-ROM has its own
distinctive features that make prominent among the dictionaries of this kind. There
are three main functions in the CD-ROM dictionary, each opening in the main
window but with a slightly different look. These three functions are the Dictionary,
Activator and Exercises. Users can choose the full sized display, or ―Pop-Up Mode‖.
The dictionary interface includes a search bar, an area for viewing entries, and
windows for the Phrase Bank, Examples Bank, and the Activate Your Language tool.
In the entry display (left side of the screen), the word is presented along with
links to pronunciation, usage note, word origin, verb form, and word set, but not all
links are active for all entries. The Phrase Bank includes phrases that use the search
word, as well as words that are commonly used with the search word. The Examples
Bank presents samples of the word‘s usage from ―Extra dictionary examples‖ and
―Sentences from books, newspapers, etc.‖ The Activate Your Language section,
which doesn‘t have entries for all words, allows a user to continue the search in the
Activator.

22
 Exercises
I. Give Russian equivalents to the following words and word -groups. Use the
text.
to permit, to align, extract, precise, to call up, far-reaching group, sophisticated,
indices, to supplement, part-of-speech tags, to lay special stress; information tools;
windows oriented software; retrieval of information; to cross-refer to words within
the entry; content area; number of options; organization of entries; search
capabilities; the case-sensitive searchers; a search bar.

II. Give English equivalents to the following words and word- groups. Use the
text.
Проводить исследование, давать возможность, надежный, обеспечивать
исследователей, применение компьютерных технологий, обусловило появление
лексикографии, критерии отбора, прикладные науки, точные определения,
обширная база данных; индексы; методы поиска; отвечать требованиям,
осуществлять поиск.

III. Give the plural forms of the following nouns. Use the text.
Corpus, phenomenon, criterion, datum, hypothesis, memorandum, index.

IV. Put in the missing prepositions. Use the text.

typical … particular varieties; to organize easily examples … more meaningful
groups … analysis; to lay special stress … their collocation; due … the ability; to
establish relationships … co-occurring words; to be comprised … words; to give
objective information …what spoken English is really like; to deal… the design; the
access … information; emphasis … following a predetermined path; to acquire
searching skills apart…the conventional dictionary skills; to install CD-ROM
dictionaries … a computer; to be added … the online dictionary; the search …
words; to be used … the headword; links … pronunciation.

V. Complete the sentences. Use the lecture .

1. Modern trends in English lexicography are connected with the appearance and
rapid development of such branches of linguistics as:… … . 2. Corpus Linguistics is
the study of language/linguistic phenomena through … . 3. Corpus Linguistics deals
with … . 4. Corpora are … . 5. Computational linguistics is the branch of linguistics
in which … . 6. A large and well-constructed corpus gives excellent information
about … . 7. The Bank of English is a very large corpus of … . 8.
The written part of the British National Corpus includes … . 9. Texts are selected for
inclusion in the British National Corpus according to three independent selection
criteria: domain, time and … . 10. The spoken part of the British National Corpus
includes … . 11. The use of language corpora and the application of modern
computational techniques in various lexicographical researches have provided the
appearance of … . 12. Computational Lexicography deals with … . 13. Electronic
dictionaries fundamentally differ from conventional word-books in … . 14. There
are two main types of electronic dictionaries.. .
23
VI. Match the databases of the Longman Corpus Network with their
characteristics

1. the Longman Learners‘ Corpus a) comprised of 140 million words of

American newspaper and book texts
2.the Spoken British Corpus b)covers an extensive range of written
texts from literature to bus timetables
3. the Longman Lancaster Corpus c) comprised of 10 million words of
writing in English by learners of the
language from 125 different countries
4. the Longman Written American Corpus d) a unique resource of 5 million
words of everyday American speech
5. the Longman Spoken American Corpus e) gives objective information on what
spoken English is really like and how
it differs from written British English

VII. The use of corpora in dictionary-making practice gives a compiler a lot of

opportunities. Use the Infinitive of verbs in Passive
Model: to produce and revise dictionaries much more quickly than before, thus
providing up-to-date information about language
Dictionaries are produced and revised much more quickly than before, thus
providing up-to-date information about language.
1. to give more complete and precise definitions since a larger number of natural
examples are examined;
2. to keep on top of new words entering the language, or existing words changing
their meanings due to the open-ended (constantly growing) monitor corpus;
3. to describe usages of particular words or phrases typical of particular varieties
and genres as corpus data contain a rich amount of textual information –
regional variety, author, date, part-of-speech tags, genre, etc.
4. to organize easily examples extracted from the corpora into more meaningful
groups for analysis and describe/present them laying special stress on their
collocation.
5. to treat phrases and collocations more systematically due to the ability to call
up word-combinations rather than words and due to the existence of mutual
information tools which establish relationships between co-occurring words;
6. to register cultural connotations and underlying ideologies which a language
has.
VIII. Questions for discussion.
1. What are modern trends in lexicography connected with? 2. What is corpus
linguistics? 3. What is computational linguistics? 4. What is the importance of
corpora aligned to? Why? 5. What has the recent development of corpus linguistics
given birth to? 6. What do you know about the British National Corpus? 7. What
opportunities does a compiler get due to corpora? 8. What does computational
lexicography deal with? 9. What are the most significant differences between
24
 electronic and conventional dictionaries? 10. What is the difference between the
minimal skills acquired for the use of conventional and electronic dictionaries? 11.
What types of electronic dictionaries can be singled out? 12. What are the distinctive
features of the Oxford English Dictionary online? 13. In what way does the Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English on CD-ROM differ from the printed-paper
dictionary? 14. What are the distinctive features of the Longman Dictionary of
Contemporary English on CD-ROM?

UNIT3. WORD-BUILDING IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Lecture 4. Introduction. Affixation

Vocabulary

Word-building – a process of producing new words from the resources of this

particular language
constituent (n.) – component part
composition – the way of word-building by putting two or more stems together
to view – to inspect
to appear – to be or become visible
divisible – capable of being divided
morpheme – the smallest linguistic unit possessing meaning
to occur – to be met with, to be found in some place or condition
to possess – to own
to precede – to go before
to follow – to go after
derived – formed, originated
to compete – to strive for superiority
to enlarge – to make larger
stem – a part of the word consisting of root and affix
prefix – a morpheme which precedes the root in the structure of the word
suffix – a morpheme which follows the root in the structure of the word
to occur – случаться, происходить
subconscious – подсознательный
to some extent – до некоторой степени
productive - продуктивный
to derive – получать, выводить, производить
to identify – устанавливать
nonce-words – окказионализм
occasion – случай
pattern – модель
to seek in vain – тщетно искать
to confuse – смешивать, путать, приводить в замешательство
to regain – вновь обрести, восстановить, получить обратно

25
 Some Productive Affixes

Noun-forming suffixes -er, -ing, -ness, -ism (materialism), -

ist(impressionist), -ance

Adjective-forming suffixes -y, -ish, -ed (learned), -able, -less

Adverb-forming suffixes -ly

Verb-forming suffixes -ize/-ise (realise), -ate
Prefixes un- (unhappy), re- (reconstruct), dis-
(disappoint)

Some Non-Productive Affixes

Noun-forming suffixes -th, -hood

Adjective-forming -ly, -some, -en, -ous
suffixes
Verb-forming suffix -en

Some Native Suffixes

Noun forming -er worker, miner, teacher, painter, etc.

-ness coldness, loneliness, loveliness, etc.
-ing feeling, meaning, singing, reading, etc.
-dom freedom, wisdom, kingdom, etc.
-hood childhood, manhood, motherhood, etc.
-ship friendship, companionship, master-ship, etc.

-th length, breadth, health, truth, etc.

-ful careful, joyful, wonderful, sinful, skilful, etc.
Adjective
forming -less
-y careless,
cozy, tidy,sleepless, cloudless,
merry, snowy, sense-less,
showy, etc. etc.
-ish English, Spanish, reddish, childish, etc.

-ly lonely, lovely, ugly, likely, lordly, etc.

-en wooden, woollen, silken, golden, etc.
-some handsome, quarrelsome, tiresome, etc.
Verb-forming -en widen, redden, darken, sadden, etc.

Adverb -ly warmly, hardly, simply, carefully, coldly, etc.

forming

26
 Latin Affixes
The suffix -ion communion, legion, opinion, session, union, etc.
The suffix -tion relation, revolution, starvation, temptation, unification,
etc.
The suffix -ate [eit] appreciate, create, congratulate, etc.
The suffix -ute [ju:t] attribute, contribute, constitute, distribute, etc.
The remnant suffix -ct act, conduct, collect, connect, etc.
The remnant suffix -d(e) applaud, divide, exclude, include, etc.
The prefix dis- disable, distract, disown, disagree, etc.
The suffix -able detestable, curable, etc.
The suffix -ate [it] accurate, desperate, graduate, etc.
The suffix -ant arrogant, constant, important, etc.
The suffix -ent absent, convenient, decent, evident, etc.
The suffix -or major, minor, junior, senior, etc.
The suffix -al cordial, final, fraternal, maternal, etc.
The suffix -ar lunar, solar, familiar, etc.

French Affixes
Nouns
The suffix -ance arrogance, endurance, hindrance, etc.
The suffix -ence consequence, intelligence, patience, etc.
The suffix -ment appointment, development, experiment,
etc.
The suffix -age courage, marriage, passage, village, etc.
The suffix -ess tigress, lioness, actress, adventuress,
etc.
Adjectives The suffix -ous curious, dangerous, joyous, serious, etc.
Verbs The prefix en- enable, endear, enact, enfold, enslave,
etc.

Exercises

I. Study lecture 3 and give English equivalents to the Russian words and word
groups.
Если рассмотреть с точки зрения структуры, составные части слова, обладать
значением, корень, предшествовать корню, следовать за корнем, основа слова,
обеспечить обогащение словаря, производные слова, словообразование,
конверсия, словосложение, сложное слово, сокращенное слово, корневое

27
слово, подлинный запас слов, широко распространенный, колокольчик,
бледнеть, консервировать, вручать, ни на что не годный, член парламента,
водородная бомба, холодина, одиночество, значение, длина, пение, заботливый,
бессонный, красноватый, мудрость, грешный, детский, снежный, материнство,
товарищество, зрелость, мастерство, аккуратный, безоблачный,
бесчувственный, краснеть, шелковый, роскошный, утомительный, очарование.

II. Study lecture 4 and put in the missing prepositions.

To possess a meaning … their own, to be subdivided … two large classes, to consist
… a root and an affix, to be numerous … the vocabulary, to compete … the type, to
be widely represented … a number of words, to be enlarged … conversion, the
process of affixation consists … coining new word … adding a suffix … some root,
… etymological point of view, to be borrowed … the same way, to take part … the
word-making, to bring … mind, to seek … vain, to be coined … the pattern, to be
aimed … a humorous effect, to affect … the extent.

III. Study lecture 4 and complete the sentences.

The process of producing new words from the resources of a particular language is
known as … . 2. Word-building provides means for enlarging and enriching the … .3.
The most productive ways of word-building are composition, conversion, shortening
and … . 4. Words appear to be divisible into smaller units which are called … . 5.
Morphemes do not occur as free forms but only as … . 6. Morphemes possess … . 7.
All morphemes are subdivided into two large classes: roots and … . 8. Affixes fall
into prefixes and … . 9. A prefix is a morpheme which precedes the … in the
structure of the word. 10. A suffix is a morpheme which follows the … in the word
structure. 11. Words which consist of a root and an affix are called … . 12.
Derivatives are produced by the process of word-building known as … .13. Words
which have only a root morpheme are called … . 14. Words consisting of two or
more stems are … . 15.Stem is a part of a word consisting of … . 16. Compounds are
produced by the word- building process called … . 17. Curtailed words are maid by
the way of word-building known as … .

IV. Choose true statements

1. By word-building the processes of producing new words from the resources of a
particular language are understood. 2. Word-building provides means for enlarging
and enriching the vocabulary of the language. 3. A word can be divided into smaller
units, morphemes. 4. Morphemes are free structural forms. 5. Morphemes can be
subdivided into roots and suffixes. 6. Words which consist of roots and affixes are
called compounds. 7. Root words have only a root morpheme in their structure. 8.
Compounds are produced by affixation. 9. Affixation is the most productive way of
word-building. 10. The process of affixation consists in coining a new word by
adding an affix or several affixes to some root morpheme. 11. Affixes can be
classified according to the etymological criterion and the criterion of productivity. 12.
From etymological point of view affixes fall into native and borrowed. 13. Noun-
forming affixes –er, -hood, and –ing are borrowed affixes. 14. Borrowed affixes of
28
Latin and French origin are not numerous in the English vocabulary. 15. Some
French noun-forming affixes are –ion, -tion. 16. Some Latin noun-forming affixes
are: -ance, -ence, -age, -ess.

V. Questions for discussion

1. What smaller units can all the words be divided into? 2. Are morphemes free
structural forms? 3. Do morphemes possess meanings of their own? 4. What two
large classes are all morphemes subdivided into? 5. What is word-building? 6. What
are the most productive ways of word-building? 7. What morpheme is called a
prefix? 8. Does suffix precede or follow the root? 9. What words are known as
derivatives? 10. What morphemes do the root words have? 11. How many stems does
a compound consist of? 12. How are the words produced by the contraction called?
13. What does the process of affixation consist in? 14. What criteria can affixes be
classified according to? 15. What borrowed affixes are numerous in the English
vocabulary? 16. What noun-forming and adjective-forming suffixes were borrowed
from French? 17. What do we mean by productive affixes?

VI. Fill in the gaps with the words below.

Borrowed, noun-forming, French, native, productivity, adverb-forming, origin,
deriving, adjective-forming, etymological, coining, classified, verb-forming.

1. The process of affixation consists in … a new word by adding an affix or several

affixes to some root morpheme. 2. Affixes can be … according to the etymological
criterion and the criterion of productivity. 3. From … point of view affixes fall into
native and … . 4. Some … noun-forming affixes are: –er, -hood, -ing, -th, -ship. 5.
Some native … affixes are: -less, -y, -ful, -ish, -en. 6. Borrowed affixes especially of
Latin and French … are numerous in the English vocabulary. 7. Some Latin noun-
forming affixes are: –ion, -tion, … affixes are: suffixes -ate, -ct, -ute, the prefix dis-;
adjective-forming affixes are: -ate, -ant, -ent, al, -ar etc. 8. Some … noun-forming
affixes are: -ance, -ence, -age, -ess; adjective-forming suffix - ous and verb-forming
prefix en-. 9. According to the criterion of … affixes are classified into productive
and non-productive. 10. By productive affixes we mean the ones, which take part in
… new words in this particular period of language. 11. Some productive affixes are:
noun-forming suffixes –er, -ing, -ness, -ism; adjective forming suffixes: -y, -ish, -ed,
-able, -less; … suffix: -ly; verb-forming suffixes: -ize, -ate; and prefixes: un-, re-, dis-
. 12. Some non-productive affixes are: verb-forming suffix –en, adjective-forming
suffixes:-ly, -some, -en, -ous; … suffixes: -th, -hood.

Practicum
I. State the verb stems and suffixes the nouns are built with. Translate them into
Russian.
1. Electrification, simplification, amplification, intensification, classification,
specification, preparation, connection, lubrication, compression, collision,
conclusion, transmission.
2. Drawing, designing, beginning, feeling, steering, acting, welding.
29
3. Government, development, employment, accomplishment, movement, equipment,
establishment.
4. Conductivity, variety, productivity.
5. Defence, resemblance, appearance, clearance.
6. Discovery, delivery.

II. Translate the word-combinations into Russian. State what suffixes the
adjectives are built with.
1. Icy hands, foggy day, dusty room, salty fish, inky fingers.
2. British goods, girlish hands, cattish habits, foolish words.
3. Breakable things, changeable weather, portable radio, enjoyable trip.
4. Parliamentary elections, elementary actions, revolutionary holidays, supplementary
material, documentary film.
5. Active people, productive forces, constructive plans, progressive policy, extensive
investigation.
6. Daily papers, yearly holiday, monthly wage, weakly magazine.
7. Famous scientist, mountainous country, advantageous plans, victorious army,
numerous mistakes.
8. Automatic machine, basic principles, realistic policy, specific conditions, public
telephone, classic music.
9. Physical laws, commercial school, theoretical problems, economical device,
mechanical properties.
10. Papered walls, closed windows, talented researcher, crowded streets.

III. Translate the word-combinations into Russian.

To nave barely enough time, to work carelessly, to translate literally, to watch TV
nightly, to come presently, to work seasonally, to read newspapers occasionally,
widely different ideas, highly interesting books.

IV. State what part of speech each of the following words belongs to. Read the
pairs of words and comment on the stress in them.
1. Economy - economic; industry - industrial; technology - technological; solid -
solidity.
2. Canada - Canadian; Europe - European; Japan - Japanese.
3. To generate - generation, to investigate - investigation, to form -formation, to
transform - transformation, to specialize - specialization, to calculate - calculation, to
electrify - electrification, to fabricate - fabrication, to deform - deformation, to
analyse - analysis, analytic; to emphasize - emphasis, emphatic; to automate -
automation, to separate - separation.

V. The italicized words in the following jokes and extracts are formed by
derivation. Write them out in two columns: A. Those formed with the help of
:

productive affixes. B. Those formed with the help of non-productive affixes.

Explain the etymology of each borrowed affix.
1. Willie was invited to a party, where refreshments were bountifully served.
30
 "Won't you have something more, Willie?" the hostess said.
"No, thank you," replied Willie, with an expression of great satisfaction. "I'm full."
"Well, then," smiled the hostess, "put some delicious fruit and cakes in your pocket
to eat on the way home."
"No, thank you," came the rather startling response of Willie, "they're full too."
2. The scene was a tiny wayside railway platform and the sun was going down
behind the distant hills. It was a glorious sight. An intending passenger was chat
ting with one of the porters.
"Fine sight, the sun tipping the hills with gold," said the poetic passenger.
.

"Yes," reported the porter; "and to think that there was a time when I was often as
lucky as them 'ills."
3. A lady who was a very uncertain driver stopped her car at traffic signals which
were against her. As the green flashed on, her engine stalled, and when she restarted
it the colour was again red. This flurried her so much that when green returned she
again stalled her engine and the cars behind began to hoot. While she was waiting for
the green the third time the constable on duty stepped across and with a smile said:
"Those are the only colours, showing today, ma'am."
4. "You have an admirable cook, yet you are always growling about her to your
friends."
"Do you suppose I want her lured away?"
5.Patient: Do you extract teeth painlessly?
Dentist: Not always – the other day I nearly dislocated my wrist.
6. The inspector was paying a hurried visit to a slightly overcrowded school.
"Any abnormal children in your class?" he inquired of one harassed-looking
teacher.
"Yes," she replied, with knitted brow, "two of them have good manners."
7. "I'd like you to come right over," a man phoned an undertaker, "and supervise
the burial of my poor, departed wife."
"Your wife!" gasped the undertaker. "Didn't I bury her two years ago?"
"You don't understand," said the man. "You see I married again."
"Oh," said the undertaker. "Congratulations."
9. The residence of Mr. Peter Pett, the well-known financier, on Riverside Drive,
New York, is one of the leading eyesores of that breezy and expensive boulevard
...Through the rich interior of this mansion Mr. Pett, its nominal proprietor, was
wandering like a lost spirit. There was a look of exasperation on his usually patient
face. He was afflicted by a sense of the pathos of his position. It was not as if he
demanded much from life. At that moment all that he wanted was a quiet spot where
he might read his Sunday paper in solitary peace and he could not find one. Intruders
lurked behind every door. The place was congested. This sort of thing had been
growing worse and worse ever since his marriage two years previously. Marriage had
certainly complicated life for Mr. Pett, as it does for the man who waits fifty years
before trying it. There was a strong literary virus in Mrs. Pett's system. She not only
wrote voluminously herself — but aimed at maintaining a salon... She gave shelter
beneath her terra-cotta roof to no fewer than six young unrecognized geniuses. Six
brilliant youths, mostly novelists who had not yet started...
31
(From Piccadilly Jim by P. G. Wodehouse. Abridged)

Lecture 5. Semantics of Affixes

Vocabulary

To designate – to mark or point out clearly

insufficiency – not enough quantity
hasty – hurried; speedy; quickly-tempered
to deduce – to arrive at meaning by reasoning
readjustment – adjusting again
to preserve – to keep safe, alive; to maintain
abode – dwelling place, house
at random – without aim, purpose or principle
to befit – to suit, be fitted or appropriate for …

Exercises
I. Study lecture 5 and give Russian equivalents to the following English words
and word-groups.
All-embracing, designating persons, place of abode, insufficiency of quality, hasty
conclusion, to deduce the meaning, readjustment, subtle shifts, to take at random,
malicious, spiteful, to be inclined, improbable, cunning, crafty, touchy, brainy, catty,
chatty, dressy, fishy, foxy, stagy, touchy, to take offence, questionable, imaginable, to
befitting smb., heavenly, tinged, eatable, questionable, imaginable, heavenly,
friendly, childish, tallish, girlish, bookish, womanly, womanish, flowery, flowered,
starry, starred, reddened, reddish, shortened, shortish.

II. Study lecture 5 and give English equivalents to the following Russian words
and word-groups.
Невидимый компонент, иметь свое собственное значение, относиться к
категории, всеобъемлющий, обозначать, жилище, недостаток качества,
поспешный вывод, производное слово, выводить значение из …, составные
части, сохранить современное значение, трудно различимый, взять наугад,
приписывать кому-либо, болтливый, модный, быть склонным к ч.л.,
неправдоподобный, хитрый, показной, обидчивый, оттенки значения,
претерпевать изменения, взаимный, съедобный, спорный, воображаемый,
очаровательный, ребяческий, божественный, девический, книжный,
женственный, женоподобный, цветистый, цветущий, цветастый, сокращенная
история, коротковатый, красноватый, покрасневший.

III. Study lecture 5 and put in the missing prepositions.

To differ ... ; concept conveyed ... the word; place ... abode; to lead ... conclusion; to
deduce the meaning ... the meanings of the constituents; to be open ... subtle shifts; to
take ... random; characterized ... brains; to be inclined ... chat; features ascribed ...
smb.; to take offence ... provocation; the suffix is affected ... the root; to be
32
characteristic ... a friend; to be devoted ... study; to be acquainted ... books; to be ...
considerable interest; to be applied ... speech; … this respect; the semantic difference
… the members; to be reddened … weeping.

IV. Study lecture 5 and complete the sentences.

1. The morpheme is the smallest indivisible component of the word possessing a … .
2. Meanings of affixes are widely … . 3. The noun-forming suffix –er designates
persons from the object of their occupation or labour, e.g. … . 4. The noun-forming
suffix –er designates persons from their place of origin or abode, e.g. … . 5. The
adjective-forming suffix - ful has the meaning of ―full of‖, ― characterized by‖, e.g.
… . 6. The suffix –ish may often imply insufficiency of quality, e.g. … . 7. The suffix
-ish may also denote ―resembling or befitting smb. or smth‖, e.g. childish, … . 8.The
suffix –y has the meaning ―characterized by or inclined to the substance or action of
the root to which the affix is attached‖, e.g. … . 9. Affixes can not only add their
meanings to the roots, they also can be affected by the roots, e.g. eatable, … .

V. Choose true statements

1. The morpheme is the smallest indivisible component of the word possessing a
meaning. 2. Meanings of affixes are widely generalized. 3. Affixes refer the concept
conveyed by the word to a certain category. 4. The suffix –er designates persons
from the object of their occupation or labour. 5. The noun-forming suffix –er in the
word ―Londoner‖ designates a person from the place of his or her origin. 6. The
suffix –er in the word ―driver‖ designates a person from the object of his occupation.
7. The adverb-forming suffix - ful has the meaning of ―full of‖, ― characterized by‖.
8. The suffix –ish has the meaning ―characterized by or inclined to the substance or
action of the root to which the affix is attached‖. 9.The suffix - ful in the adjective
―careful‖ has the meaning of ―full of care‖, ―characterized by care‖. 10. The adjective
―youngish‖ means not quite young but looking it. 11. The suffix -ish in the word
―girlish‖ denotes ―resembling or befitting a girl‖. 12.The suffix –y implies
insufficiency of quality. 13. The suffix –y in the adjective ―chatty‖ has the meaning
―insufficiency of quality‖. 14. The adjective ―fishy‖ means ―characterized by features
ascribed to a fish‖. 15. The adjective ―womanly‖ is used to indicate an effeminate
man. 16. Flowery means ―decorated with a pattern of flowers‖. 17.Affixes can not
only add their meanings to the roots, they also can be affected by the roots. 18.
―Starry‖ in the word-group ―starry eyes‖ means ―resembling stars‖.

VI. Prove that:

1. The noun-forming suffix –er designates persons from the object of their occupation
or labour, from their place of origin or abode. 2. The adjective-forming suffix - ful
has the meaning of ―full of‖, ― characterized by‖. 3. The suffix –ish may often imply
insufficiency of quality. 4. The suffix -ish may also denote ―resembling or befitting
smb. or smth‖. 5.The suffix –y has the meaning ―characterized by or inclined to the
substance or action of the root to which the affix is attached‖. 6. Affixes can not only
add their meanings to the roots, they also can be affected by the roots.

33
VII. Questions for discussion.
1. Does the morpheme possess a meaning? 2. Meanings of affixes are widely
generalized, aren‘t they? 3. What persons does the noun-forming suffix –er
designate? 4. What meaning does the suffix - ful have? 5. Does the suffix –ish may
often imply insufficiency of quality? 6. Does the word ―youngish‖ mean ―not quite
young but looking it‖ or ―like a young person‖? 7.What meaning does the suffix –y
have? 8. Can affixes be affected by the roots?

Practicum

I. Match the definitions with the words.

1. brainy a) open to doubt
2. touchy b) foxlike
3. chatty c) worthy of loving
4. catty d) intelligent
5. foxy e) hard to believe
6. lovable f) apt to take offence
7. stagy g) given to chat
8. fishy h) slyly malicious
9. questionable i) devoted to reading or study
10. eatable j) inclined to affection, to unnatural manners
11.bookish k) good to eat
12. starred l) decorated with a pattern of flowers
13. starry m) resembling stars
14. flowered n) covered with stars

II. Study the tables. Translate examples into Russian. Make the test ―Semantics
of English Affixes‖, based on the information given in the tables (see
APPENDIX Unit 3).

III. Form words with a negative meaning, using prefixes in-, un-, dis-, de-.
Translate them into Russian.
Ability, able, accessible, action, admissible, expected, comprehensible, to tie, eatable,
to bind, to charge, to obey, to organize, to mobilize, to bolt, just, justice.

IV. Read the information presented below.

The Prefix tells the number

After each number are one or more prefixes used to form words that include
that number. Knowing what the prefix stands for can help you understand the
meaning of the word. For example, a monorail has one track. A pentagon has five
sides. September gets its name f rom the calendar used in Roman times when it was
the seventh month (the Roman year began in March). An octopus has eight arms.

34
Translate the words given in the list.

1 uni-, mon-, mono- unicycle, unicorn,

monorail, monarch
2 bi- bicycle, binary,
binoculars, bifocals
3 tri- tricycle, triangle,
trilogy, trio
4 quadr-, tetr- quadrangle,
quadruplet,
tetrahedron
5 pent-, quint- pentagon, pentathlon,
quintuplet
6 hex-, sext- hexagon, sextuplet,
sextet
7 hept-, sept- heptathlon, septuplet
8 oct- octave, octet,
octopus, octagon
9 non- nonagon, nonet
10 dec- decade, decibel,
decimal
100 cent- centipede, century
1000 kilo- kilogram, kilometer,
kilowatt
million mega- megabyte, megahertz
billion giga- gigabyte, gigawatt

V. Analyse the words, state what part of speech they belong to. Comment on
their formation and meaning. Translate the words into Russian.
Aside, afresh, antibody, antiwar, countermotion, decompose, demilitarization,
disarrange, discover, extraterritorial, extralogical, exchampion, ex-president, ex-
student, immortal, indirect, invariable, interconnect, interdependent, outsider, outsit,
overweight, overload, nonresistance, pre-fabricate, prehistoric, postwar, prorector,
rearrangement, reconstruct, subclass, substation, supersonic, superheating,
transatlantic, transcontinental, untrue, ultrasonic, ultramodern, vice-president.

VI. Translate the word-combinations into Russian. Analyse the structure of the
derivatives used in them. Comment on the meaning of their prefixes.
Unimportant news, unemployed workers, to unlock the door, immortal fame,
inaccurate statement, inorganic chemistry, irresponsible person, to disqualify a
sportsman, likes and dislikes, to demobilize the army, merits and demerits, to
misspell a word, to misunderstand somebody, non-atomic weapons, non-nuclear
country, antiwar demonstrations, antiscientific doctrine, counter-proposal, non-stop
flight, outlet for gas, output of production, extrahuman efforts, ultracomplex plans,
trans-Siberian railway, to overthrow a government, over-sized classes, supernatural
35
forces, supersonic plane, underwater swimming, under-populated regions, subtropical
climate, international relations, intercontinental rockets, prehistoric development,
prewar period, post-school education, profascist government.

VII. Deduce the meanings of the following derivatives from the meanings of
their constituents. Explain your deduction. What are the meanings of the affixes
in the words under examination?
Reddish, adj.; overwrite, v.; irregular, adj.; illegal, adj.; retype, v.; old-womanish,
adj.; disrespectable, adj.; inexpensive, adj.; unladylike, ad;'.; disorganize, v.; renew,
v.; eatable, adj.; overdress, v.; disinfection, n.; snobbish, adj.; handful, n.; tallish, adj.;
sandy, adj.; breakable, adj.; underfed, adj.

VIII. Explain the difference between the meanings of the following words
produced from the same root by means of different affixes. Translate the words
into Russian.
Watery — waterish, embarrassed — embarrassing, manly — mannish, colourful —
coloured, distressed — distressing, respected — respectful — respectable, exhaustive
— exhausting — exhausted, bored — boring, touchy — touched — touching.

IX. Study the diminutives suggested below, specify the principle of their
classification (according to the functions of diminutives 1) endearment and
affection; 2) familiarity or intimacy; 3) condescension or dismissal; 4) a smaller
(a small) size or dimension; 5) the young of animals or pets) and establish the
meaning they render to the stem. Translate the words into Russian:

- let: booklet, piglet, rivulet, starlet

– et(te): kitchenette, cigarette, launderette, diskette, novelette, nymphet, statuette,
towelette
– ie (-y): doggie, kitty, laddie, lassie, sweetie
– ling: duckling, darling, princeling, gosling, fosterling, hireling, underling, sapling,
lordling, godling
– cule, -culus, -ule: animalcule, calculus, capsule, corpuscule, globule, granule,
module, molecule
– el: bowel, chapel, colonel, fennel, hovel, spinel, tunnel
– elle (-ella): membranelle, novella, umbrella
– ing: farthing, tithing
– kin: bodkin, gherkin, lambkin, manikin, napkin, babykins
– ock: bullock, hillock, paddock, tussock

X. Below are a number of words containing vogue neo-semi-affixes. Study them

closely, trace the word that caused them to appear and say what they currently
mean.
Some elements of a word may receive an unprecedented boost in usage in
combination with root words. Although originally found as part of a single word,
they become fashionable and wide-spread due to the topicality of the notion they
36
convey. These are such elements as ―franken-‖, ―e-‖, ―(o)rexia, ―eco-‖, ―Mc-‖, ―-
speak‖, ―(a)thon‖, ―-gate‖ and some others. The number of such words is currently on
the increase, therefore it is hardly possible to enumerate all of them. The status of
these word-building elements is hard to define, for convenience‘ sake, we choose to
refer to them as ―vogue neo-semi-af- fixes‖ (модные нео-полуаффиксы). They are
not affixes proper as they appeared relatively recently and as a result are rarely
registered by dictionaries; nor should they be called ―combining forms‖ (as some
linguists suggest), because combining forms are restricted to Latin and Greek roots,
often found in combination with each other; calling them ―roots‖ is also dubious, for
they hardly ever function in speech independently, and even if they occasionally do,
this is rather an exception than the rule. It seems that referring to them as ―semi-
affixes‖ is most appropriate, inasmuch as their meaning is more precise and concrete
than that of affixes.
1.Adspeak, artspeak, businesspeak, computerspeak, femspeak, videospeak, gayspeak,
technospeak, doublespeak, litcritspeak, videospeak, discospeak, Olymspeak,
Pentagonspeak, Freudspeak, bureaucratspeak
2.e-Bay, e-commerce, e-trade, e-cards, e-medicine, e-financing, e-gold, e-library, e-
pals, e-mentoring, e-music, e-museum, ehow, e-boat
3. iTools, iTunes, iFilm, iVillage, iWon, iEarn, iPad, iPod, iOS
4.Frankenfood, Frankenbeans, Frankencorn, Frankenfruit, Frankenrice,
Frankenplants, Frankenword
5.McJob, McFashion, McTheatre, McNews, McWord
6.Bikeathon, talkathon, walkathon, telethon, discothon, Bachathon
7.Nannygate, oilgate, Irangate, Hollywoodgate.

XI. Sort out the following words with the ―-ee‖ suffix and allocate them to the
recipient of the action‖ (1) or ―the doer of the action‖ (2) (the actor).
Adaptee, electee, examinee, franchisee, mergee, rescuee, transportee, appellee,
mortgagee, educatee, releasee, addressee, deportee, nominee, trainee, absentee,
escapee, riteree, returnee.

Lecture 6. Conversion. Patterns of Conversion

Vocabulary
Peculiar – belonging exclusively to …
controversial – disputable
mere – not more than,
rigid – firm, strict
sheer – complete, thorough
to enrich – to make rich
to acquire – to gain by skill, to possess
to bear – to carry
decisive – deciding, conclusive
to confirm – to establish more firmly, to agree, to admit

37
to occur – to take place, to happen
vital – necessary for …
to penetrate – to make a way, to pass through
To coincide – to occur at the same time
pattern – something used as a model
to denote – to indicate
to perform – to act, to do a piece of work
to convey – to carry
perplexing – confusing
bewildering – puzzling, confusing

Exercises
I. Study lecture 6 and give Russian equivalents to the following English words
and word-groups.
Productive way, affixless derivation, morphemic shape, paradigm, peculiar,
controversial, mere change, to enrich vocabulary, shift in lexical meaning, to acquire,
to bear characteristics, to confirm the point of view, immense productivity, to
encourage, to facilitate, one-syllable words, to occur momentarily, immediate need,
hence, brevity, nonce-word, to penetrate speech, subconsciously, to result from
conversion, unsusceptible, to occur due to conversion, to coincide, subconsciously,
language pattern, to hand, to back, to face, to eye, to mouth, to dog, to wolf, to
monkey, semantic interrelations, to ape, to fox, to rat, to fish, to can, to coal, to stage,
to screen, to room, to floor, to blackmail, to blacklist, to honeymoon, a do, to pale, to
grey, to rough, to down, to out, the ups and downs, the ins and outs, the like, roughly,
tool, implement, to hammer, to nail, to pin, to pencil, to convey, to whale, to leg, to
elbow, to shoulder, to nose, to nurse, to maid, to groom, to house, to place, to table, to
cage, to bottle, to pocket, perplexing, to act craftily, cunningly, ferocity, howling,
inclination, packs, greedily, voraciously, hostile intent, to fool, intricacies,
bewildering, to water, to milk, to squeal.

II. Study lecture 6 and give English equivalents to the following Russian words
and word-groups.
Иметь дело с …, конверсия, продуктивный способ словообразования,
безаффиксальный, парадигма, свойственный, спорный вопрос, самая суть,
следовательно, обогащать словарь, сдвиг в лексическом значении, приобретать,
убедительный аргумент, авторитетный, подтверждать точку зрения,
способствовать процессам, многосложные слова, возникать мгновенно,
окказиональное слово, проникать в речь, остерегаться, случаться, совпадать,
инструмент, бить молотком, забивать гвоздь, прикалывать, писать карандашом,
расчесывать, выслеживать, пожирать с жадностью, подшучивать, подражать,
обманывать, предавать, рыбачить, бить китов, толкать ногой, пронзительно
кричать, вручать, проталкиваться, двигаться в обратном направлении, взвалить
на плечо, нюхать, осматривать, говорить торжественно, ухаживать,
прислуживать, ходить за лошадьми, предоставлять жилище, предоставлять

38
комнату, сажать в клетку, тупиковый, склонность, стая, ненасытно, класть в
карман, жестокость, доить, поить водой, вой, запутанность, ставить в тупик.

III. Study lecture 6 and put in the missing prepositions.

To deal … words, to refer… as, to consist … making new words … existing words,
to differ … the meaning, to be associated … the word, peculiar … a new category, to
be treated … a number of scholars, … this point of view, according … this approach,
to enrich English vocabulary … new words, to occur … the immediate need, to guard
… thinking, to result … conversion, to occur due … conversion, to be affected …
conversion, … the beginning of the chapter, considered to be typical … the animal,
to be derived … , to arose … association.

IV. Fill in the blanks with the necessary words, given bellow.
Functional, acquires, accepted, word-building, syntactical, develops, shift, predicate,
derivation, convenient, analytical, lexical, part of speech, shape, meanings,
productive, change.
1. Conversion is sometimes referred to as an affixless way of word-building or
affixless … . 2. Conversion consists in making a new word from some existing word
by changing the category of …, the morphemic … of the original word remaining
unchanged. 3.According to the… approach conversion is not a word-building act, but
a mere functional … . 4. From the functional point of view conversion enriches
English vocabulary through the change of … functions of words. 5. Normally, a word
changes its syntactic function without any … in lexical meaning. 6. Let‘s compare
two sentences in which adjective yellow performs different syntactical functions
without any change in … meaning: ―There are many yellow leaves on the ground in
autumn‖ and ―The leaves were turning yellow‖. 7. Though the word yellow acts as an
attribute and as a … it still denotes colour. 8. But if we compare the sentences ―The
leaves yellowed‖ and ―There are many yellow leaves on the ground in autumn‖, we
can see that the word yellow performs different syntactical functions and have
different lexical … . 9. Besides, the converted word … all the properties of new
category, so that if it has entered the verb category, it is used in all the forms of tense
and it also … the forms of the participle and the gerund. 10. So, the functional
approach is not … nowadays and conversion is considered to be a … process. 11.
Conversion is not only a highly … but also a particularly English way of word-
building. 12. The … structure of Modern English greatly facilitates processes of
making words of one category parts of speech from words of another. 13. Conversion
is a … and easy way of enriching the vocabulary with new words.

V. Complete the sentences.

1. The two categories of parts of speech especially affected by conversion are nouns
and … . 2. There are the following patterns of conversion: verbs are made from
nouns; nouns are made from verbs; verbs are made from … . 3. Nouns are frequently
made from verbs, e.g. a do, … . 4. Verbs made from adjectives are: to pale, to yellow,
… . 5. The most numerous amongst the words produced by conversion are verbs
made from … . 6. In the group of verbs made from nouns the following semantic
39
associations can be distinguished: the noun is the name of a tool or implement, the
verb denotes an action performed by the tool, e.g. to comb, to pencil, … . 7. The noun
is the name of an animal, the verb denotes an action or aspect of behaviour
considered typical of this animal, e.g. … . 8. The noun is the name of a part of the
human body, the verb denotes an action performed by it, e.g. … . 9. The noun is the
name of a profession or occupation, the verb denotes an activity typical of it, e.g. … .
10. The noun is the name of a place, the verb denotes the process of occupying the
place or of putting smth. smb. in it, e.g. … . 11. The noun names a container, the verb
denotes the act of putting smth. within the container, e.g. … . 12. The noun is the
name of a meal, the verb denotes the process of taking it, e.g. … .

VI. Questions for discussion.

1. What do we mean by conversion? 2. How is conversion treated according to the
functional approach? 3. Does conversion enrich English vocabulary through the
change of syntactical functions of words from the functional point of view? . 4. Why
is conversion also a particularly English way of word-building? 5. What categories of
parts of speech are especially affected by conversion? 6.What patterns of conversion
are there? Give examples. 7. What are the most numerous amongst the words
produced by conversion? 8. What semantic associations can be distinguished in the
group of verbs made from nouns? 8. What does the verb ―to fox‖ mean? 9. What is
the meaning of the verb ―to wolf‖? 10. Does the verb ―to fish‖ mean ―to behave like a
fish‖? 11. What is the figurative meaning of the verb ―to back‖?

Practicum
I. Find cases of conversion in the following sentences.
1. The clerk was eyeing him expectantly. 2. Under the cover of that protective din
he was able to toy with a steaming dish which his waiter had brought. 3. An
aggressive man battled his way to Stout's side. 4. Just a few yards from the front door
of the bar there was an elderly woman comfortably seated on a chair, holding a hose
linked to a tap and watering the pavement. 5. — What are you doing here? — I'm
tidying your room. 6. My seat was in the middle of a row. I could not leave without
inconveniencing a great many people, so I remained. 7. How on earth do you
remember to milk the cows and give pigs their dinner? 8. In a few minutes Papa
stalked off, correctly booted and well mufflered. 9. "Then it's practically impossible
to steal any diamonds?" asked Mrs. Blair with as keen an air of disappointment as
though she had been journeying there for the express purpose. 10. Ten minutes later I
was speeding along in the direction of Cape Town. 11. Restaurants in all large cities
have their ups and downs. 12. The upshot seemed to be that I was left to face life with
the sum of £ 87 17s 4d. 13. "A man could be very happy in a house like this if he
didn't have to poison his days with work," said Jimmy. 14.I often heard that fellows
after some great shock or loss have a habit, after they've been on the floor for a while
wondering what hit them, of picking themselves up and piecing themselves together.

II. Find cases of conversion. Translate the sentences into Russian.

40
1. They will holiday in Switzerland. 2. Storks winter in the South. 3. It was a good
buy. 4. Stillwater mirrors trees. 5. This is a must for everybody. 6. She never notices
the obvious. 7. Pocket your pride. 8. You can't cure all the ills of the world. 9. Why
shoulder the burden alone? 10. He promised to better himself. 11. Her eyes narrowed.
12. Don't wrong him. 13. There is a great deal of difference between before and after.
14. The supernatural of today is the science of tomorrow. 15. Stretch the material and
nail it into place. 16. The beer wasn't iced. 17. I don't want to be a bad third. 18. She
takes a five in shoes. 19. He wolfed down his food. 20. The Treasury Department
coins and prints money. 21. Don't baby him. 22. Instructors pilot before flights. 23.
Women pilot planes and man ships. 24. The man is a show-off. 25. The drop-out in
English colleges has a lot of reasons.

III. Match words with their definitions.

1.to dog a) to fool, to act or play idly
2.to fish b) to get milk from an animal
3.to rat c) to follow or track like a dog
4.to back d) to catch fish
5.to fox e) to imitate
6.to wolf f) to turn informer, squeal
7.to ape g) to act cunningly, craftily
8.to monkey h) to move backwards
9.to milk i) to eat greedily, voraciously

IV. Compare the verbs with the corresponding nouns, comment on their form
and meaning, translate them into Russian.
ape - to ape head - to head
ass - to ass shoulder - to shoulder
dog - to dog top - to top
duck - to duck dress - to dress
fish - to fish pocket - to pocket
eye - to eye line - to line
finger - to finger hound - to hound
monkey - to monkey face - to face
rat - to rat collar - to collar
wolf - to wolf square - to square
back - to back star - to star
bone - to bone cork - to cork

V. Translate the word-combinations and use them in sentences of your own.

to head an army to foot a stocking
to toe a mark to mind a command
to eye a foe to book a ticket
to chain a prisoner to hand a plate
to table a resolution to man a ship
to face an enemy to dress a wound
41
to fish for compliments to cork a bottle

VI. Find cases of conversion. Explain the semantic correlations within the pairs
of word.
1. a) "You've got a funny nose," he added, b) He began to nose about. He pulled
out drawer after drawer, pottering round like an old bloodhound. 2. a) I'd seen so
many cases of fellows who had become perfect slaves of their valets, b) I supposed
that while he had been valeting old Worplesdon Florence must have trodden on his
toes in some way. 3. a) It so happened that the night before I had been present at a
rather cheery little supper, b) So the next night I took him along to supper with me. 4.
a) Buck seized Thorton's hand in his teeth. b)The desk clerk handed me the key. 5. a)
A small hairy object sprang from a basket and stood yapping in the middle of the
room, b) There are advantages, you see, about rooming with Julia. 6. a) "I'm engaged
for lunch, but I've plenty of time." b) There was a time when he and I had been lads
about town together, lunching and dining together practically every day. 7. a) Mr.
Biffen rang up on the telephone while you were in your bath, b) I found Muriel singer
there, sitting by herself at a table near the door. Corky, I took it, was out telephoning.
8. Use small nails and nail the picture on the wall. 9. a) I could just see that he was
waving a letter or something equally foul in my face. b) When the bell stopped, Crane
turned around and faced the students seated in rows before him. 10. a) Lizzie is a
good cook, b) She cooks the meals in Mr. Priestley's house. 11. a) The wolf was
suspicious and afraid, b) Fortunately, however, the second course consisted of a
chicken fricassee of such outstanding excellence that the old boy, after wolfing a
plateful, handed up his dinner-pail for a second instalment and became almost genial.
12. Use the big hammer for those nails and hammer them in well. 13. a) "Put a ribbon
round your hair and be Alice-in-Wonderland," said Maxim. "You look like it now
with your finger in your mouth." b) The coach fingered the papers on his desk and
squinted through his bifocals. 14. a) The room was airy but small. There were,
however, a few vacant spots, and in these had been placed a washstand, a chest of
drawers and a midget rocker-chair, b) "Well, when I got to New York it looked a
decent sort of place to me ..." 15. a) These men wanted dogs, and the dogs they
wanted were heavy dogs, with strong muscles... and furry coats to protect them from
the frost, b) "Jeeves," I said, "I have begun to feel absolutely haunted. This woman
dogs me."

VII. Find cases of conversion

1. I kept glancing at the files of kopjes which, seen from a different angle, seemed
to change with every step so that even known landmarks, like a big mountain that has
sentinelled my world since I first became conscious of it, showed an unfamiliar sunlit
valley among its foothills (D. Lessing, ―The Old Chief Mshlanga‖, 1956, P. 9).
2. And then he grinned, too widely, and lowered his face to the figurine, and
crushed its head in his teeth, chomping and chewing widely, swallowing in lumps.
His teeth ground the china to a fine powder, which dusted the lower part of his face
(N. Gaiman, ―Neverwhere‖, 1996, P. 210).

42
3. We played in the sandpit for a little while, and then he went down the slide a
few times, and then he had a ride on one of those wooden horses that have a big
spring coming out of the bottom of them so you can wobble around (N. Hornby,
―Slam‖, 2007, P. 234)
4. The prohibition against ―um‖ probably grew into a general expectation of
flawless speaking with the advent of the radio. The popularity of the technology
exploded in the 1920s in a way that contemporary Americans who witnessed the rise
of the Internet would recognize (M. Erard, ―Slips, Stumbles and Verbal Blunders and
What They Mean‖, 2007, P. 128).
5. Take a moment to map out your own sphere of influence. Where is it strongest,
beginning with the sphere of your formal authority? (―Power, Influence and
Persuasion‖, 1992, P. 41).
6. If lists of universals show that languages do not vary freely, do they imply that
languages are restricted by the structure of the brain? Not directly. First, one must
rule our two alternative explanations (S. Pinker, ―The Language Instinct‖, 1994, P.
234).
7. I met a couple out walking two large black dogs of uncertain genetic
background. The dogs were romping playfully in the tall grass, but, as always,
happens, at the first sight of me their muscles tautened, their eyes turned a glowing
red… (B. Bryson, ―Notes from a Small Island‖, 1998, P. 113).
8. He sat with the package on his knees, aware of the passengers‘ glances, and
somehow knew the colour was a giveaway (I. McEwan, ―The Innocent‖, 1999, P.
92).
9. The place emptied rapidly. The horizontal diggers, the tunneling sergeants, had
long departed. The British vertical men had left just as the excitement was growing,
and no one noticed them go (I. McEwan, ―The Innocent‖, 1999, P. 114).

Self-Assessment Test ―Word - building in English. Affixation.

Conversion‖

Variant 1.

1. Choose the correct variant

The smallest indivisible component of the word is called:
a)a phoneme;
b) a morpheme.
2. Choose the correct variant
The words which consist of a root and an affix (or several affixes) are called:
a)derivatives;
b)compounds;
c) borrowings.
3. Choose the correct variant
All morphemes are subdivided into two large classes:
a)vowels and consonants;

43
b)roots and affixes;
c) prefixes and suffixes.
4. Choose the correct variant
The process of... consists in coining a new word by adding an affix or several affixes
to some root morpheme
a)composition;
b)conversion;
c) affixation.
5. Choose the correct variant
Affixes which take part in deriving new words in this particular period of language
development are called:
a)borrowed affixes;
b)non-productive;
c)native affixes;
d)productive.
6. Match the suffixes with their types:
1)borrowed a) -able
2) native b) -tion
3)productive c) -hood
4) non-productive d) -ness
7. Choose the correct variant
The process of word-building which consists in making new words by
changing the category of part of speech is called ...
a)affixation;
b)conversion;
c) composition.
8. Choose the correct variants
The two categories of part of speech especially affected by conversion are ...
a) nouns;
b) adjectives;
c) verbs;
d) adverbs.
9. Choose the correct variant
The most wide-spread model of conversion is …
a)Verbs are made from adjectives;
b) nouns are made from verbs;
c) verbs are made from nouns.
10. Choose the native suffixes
a)-en, -ship, -ant, -ist
b)-ate, -able, -dom, -ness
c)-less, -th, -ish, - ing
d)-tion, -y, -ment, - al.
11. Choose the correct variants
The suffix -ish may often imply …
a)insufficiency of quality
44
b)resemblance
c)full of or characterized by
d) fit to … .
12. Choose the sentence containing the italicized word with productive affix
a)It was a glorious sight.
b)The sun was going down behind the distant hills.
c)At last I decided that even this rather mannish efficient woman could do with a
little help.
13. Choose nouns which are made from verbs
a)move, coal, nose;
b)catch, show, worry;
c)stage, make, hand.
14. Establish correlation between the adjectives and theirs definitions
1.chatty a) charming, beautiful
2.brainy b) given to chat
3.lovely c) improbable, hard to believe
4.stagy d) intelligent, intellectual
5.fishy e) theatrical, unnatural
15. Choose the correct variant
The suffix … means "characterized by or inclined to the substance or action of the
root to which the affix is attached"
a)–ing;
b)–ism;
c)-ance;
d)-y.
16. Insert the missing word:
From the etymological point of view affixes are classified into native and______
17. Choose the words which are formed with the help of productive affixes:
a)snowy, sadden, English;
b)uncertain, handsome, dreadful;
c)careless, motherhood, undertaker;
d) disappoint, intending, tidy.
18. Choose the correct variant
The adjective-forming suffix ―ful‖ has the meaning:
a)«full of», «characterized by»;
b)insufficiency of quality;
c) designating persons from the object of their occupation or labor .
19. Choose the correct variant
The verb to ape means:
a)to fool, to act or play idly and foolishly;
b)to eat greedily, voraciously;
c)to imitate, mimic;
d) to act cunningly or craftily.
20. Choose the sentences with cases of conversion:
a)The cold is not excessive, if you are wrapped in furs.
45
b)Restaurants in all large cities have their ups and downs.
c)An aggressive man battled his way to Stout's side.
d)He rang up on the telephone while you were in your bath.
21.Choose French suffixes:
a) -ance; -ous; -ment;
b) -age; -ate; - dom;
c) -ent; -ness; -en;
d) -ship; -less; -ence.
22. Choose Latin suffixes:
a) ar; -al; -ess;
b) -ent; -en; -ish;
c) -ing; -ant; -d;
d) -ute; -ate; -ct.
23. Choose the correct variant
Words perfectly, unreal, eatable are made by:
a)conversion;
b)composition;
c)affixation.
24. Choose the correct variant
Words a find, a go, to book are made by:
a)affixation;
b)conversion;
c)composition;
d)reduplication.
25. Choose the correct variant
The suffix -er means …
a)resembling or befitting;
b)fit or good to do something;
c)implying insufficiency of quality;
d)designating persons from the object of their occupations.
26.Choose the correct statements
a) ―womanish‖ is used in a complimentary manner about women and girls;
b)―womanly‖ is used to describe an effeminate man;
c)―flowered‖ means ―decorated with a pattern of flowers‖;
d)―starry‖ means ―covered or decorated with stars‖.
e)―shortened‖ means ―has been abridged‖.
27. Choose the correct variant
The verb ―to wolf‖ means
a) to behave himself like a wolf;
b) to live in packs;
c) to imitate, mimic;
d) to eat greedily, voraciously.

Variant 2.

46
1. Choose the correct meaning of the suffix -ish:
a)full of, characterized by;
b)insufficiency of quality;
c)negative meaning;
d)to do again;
e)not enough.
2. Choose the correct variants:
a) -ing - is a verb - forming suffix;
b)-er - is a noun - forming suffix;
c) -en - is an adjective - forming suffix;
d) -ful - is an adverb - forming suffix;
e) -ly - is a noun - forming suffix.
3. Choose parts of speech which are especially affected by conversion:
a)adverbs;
b)nouns;
c)adjectives;
d)pronouns;
e) verbs.
4. Choose the correct word:
a)womanly/womanish is used to indicate an effeminate man;
b)starry/starred means resembling stars;
c)reddened/ reddish imply the result of an action or process.
5. Choose pairs of words, which are made by conversion:
a)to love - lover;
b)to burgle - burglar;
c)to force land - forced landing;
d)face - to face;
e)to beg - beggar.
6. Choose the non-productive affixes:
a) - ate;
b)-th;
c) - er;
d) - ness;
e) - en.
7. Choose the false statements
a) From the etymological point of view affixes are classified into native and
borrowed.
b) Native affixes are: -or, -al, -ous, -ment, -tion.
c) Non-productive affixes take part in deriving new words.
d) The affix -ful has the meaning "full of‖ and "characterized by".
8. Choose the productive affixes:
a)-er,-ing,-ly;
b)-ness, -ed, -en;
c)un-, re-, dis-;
d)-y, -ish, -ous;
47
e)-th, -some, -hood.
9. Choose the correct variant
The suffix -er means
a)resembling or befitting;
b)fit or good to do something;
c)implying insufficiency of quality;
d)designating persons from the object of their occupations;
e)"full of‖, "characterized by".
10. Choose the correct variant
Conversion consists in making a new word from some existing word by changing the
…
a) morphemic shape;
b) graphic shape;
c) phonetic shape;
d) category of a part of speech;
e) stress.
11. Choose words with native suffixes:
a) worker, fashionable, curious;
b) minor, enable, excitement;
c) happiness, meaning, respectful;
d) childish, writer, cordial;
e) wooden, tallish, experience.
12.Choose group of words which are the most numerous among the words produced
by conversion.
a) to hand, to dog, to room;
b) to pale, to grey, to cool;
c) do, go, make, run;
d) to down, ups and downs, like.
13. Choose the correct variant
The verb ―to wolf‖ means
a) to behave himself like a wolf;
b) to live in packs;
c) to turn informer, squeal;
d) to imitate, mimic;
e) to eat greedily, voraciously.
14. Choose the correct variant
________ is the smallest indivisible component of the word possessing a meaning of
its own.
a) a phoneme;
b) a morpheme.
15. Choose the sentence containing the italicized word with productive affix
a) It was a glorious sight.
b) The sun was going down behind the distant hills.
c) At last I decided that even this rather mannish efficient woman could do with a
little help.
48
 16. Insert the missing word:
By___affixes we mean the ones, which take part in deriving new words in this
particular period of language development.
17. Choose the correct variant
The words which consist of a root and an affix are called:
a)root words;
b)contracted words;
c)derived words;
d)compounds.
18. Choose the correct variant
The type of word-building which consists in building a new word by adding an affix
or several affixes to some root morpheme is called:
a)affixation;
b)conversion;
c)composition;
d)reversion.
19. Choose the native affixes:
a)- al; - ess ; - у ;
b)- en ; - ous ; - ish ;
c)- th ; - er ; - ence ;
d)- ing ; - ly ; - some.
16. Insert the missing word:
From the etymological point of view affixes are classified into native and______
17. Choose the words which are formed with the help of productive affixes:
a)snowy, sadden, English;
b)uncertain, handsome, dreadful;
c)careless, motherhood, undertaker;
d)disappoint, intending, tidy.
18. The adjective-forming suffix ―ful‖ has the meaning:
a)«full of», «characterized by» ;
b)insufficiency of quality;
c)designating persons from the object of their occupation or labor .
19. Choose the correct variant
The verb to ape means:
a)to fool, to act or play idly and foolishly;
b)to eat greedily, voraciously;
c)to imitate, mimic;
d)to act cunningly or craftily.
20. Choose the sentences with cases of conversion:
a)The cold is not excessive, if you are wrapped in furs.
b)Restaurants in all large cities have their ups and downs.
c)An aggressive man battled his way to Stout's side.
d)He rang up on the telephone while you were in your bath.
21.Choose French suffixes:
a)-ance; -ous; -ment;
49
b)-age; -ate; - dom;
c)-ent; -ness; -en;
d)-ship; -less; -ence.
22. Choose Latin suffixes:
a)-ar; -al; -ess;
b)-ent; -en; -ish;
c)-ing; -ant; -d;
d)-ute; -ate; -ct.
23. Choose the correct variant
Words perfectly, unreal, eatable are made by:
a)conversion;
b)composition;
c)affixation;
d)reversion.
24. Choose the correct variant
Words a find, a go, to book are made by:
a)affixation;
b)conversion;
c)sound-imitation;
a)reduplication.
25.Establish correlation between the adjectives and theirs definitions
1. chatty a) charming, beautiful
2. brainy b) given to chat
3. lovely c) improbable, hard to believe
4. stagy d) intelligent, intellectual
5. fishy e) theatrical, unnatural
26. Choose the correct variant
All morphemes are subdivided into two large classes;
a)vowels and consonants;
b)roots and affixes;
c)prefixes and suffixes.
27. Match the suffixes with their types:
1.borrowed a) -able
2.native b) -tion
3.productive c) -hood
4. non-productive d) –ness

Lecture 7. Composition

Vocabulary
Stem – основа
Compound – сложное слово
Contracted compound – сложное слово -сокращение
Composition – словосложение
Homogeneous – однородный
50
Juxtaposition – наложение
To confirm – to establish the truth, accuracy, validity, or genuineness of; corroborate;
verify:
Nonce-word – окказиональное слово
To coin – to devise (a new word or phrase)
Arbitrary – not planned or chosen for a particular reason : not based on reason or
evidence
To preserve – to keep up and reserve for personal or special use
Enigma – a saying, question, picture, etc., containing a hidden meaning; riddle.
constituent meaning – значение компонента
to deduce – to trace the origin or derivation of.
semantic cohesion – семантическая спаянность
to convey – to express a thought, feeling, or idea so that it is understood by
other people

Exercises

I. Study lecture 7 and give Russian equivalents to the following English words
and word-groups
Homogeneous, juxtaposition, a tallboy, derivational compounds, absent-
mindedness, blue-eyed, golden-haired, broad-shouldered, a lady-killer, a film-goer, a
music-lover, a honey-mooner, a chatterbox, a first-nighter, a late-comer, a
newcomer, an early-riser, an evildoer, a strap-hanger, a fourseater, a doubledecker,
nonce-words, handiwork, handicraft, craftsmanship, a spokesman, a statesman, a lily-
of-the-valley, a Jack-of-all-trades, good-for-nothing, a mother-in-law, a sit-at-home,
a pick-me-up, a know-all, a know-nothing, go-between, get-together, whodunit,
transparent, a pick pocket, lazybones, bluestocking, bluebottle, man-of-war, merry-
go-round, mother-of-pearl, horse-marine, butter-fingers, wall-flower, hyphenated
spelling.

II. Study lecture 8 and give English equivalents to the following Russian words
and word-groups
Производные слова, наложение основ, прозрачный, сложные слова, комод,
рассеянность, завсегдатай, неофициальное совещание, окказиональные слова,
детективный роман, злодей, болтун, мастерство, искусный, ландыш,
бесполезный, посредник, златовласка, перламутр, «новичок», неуклюжий
человек, меломан, кинозритель, производные слова, двухэтажный автобус,
четырехместный автомобиль, соединительная гласная, ручная работа,
сердцеед, незнайка, домосед, мастер на все руки, сдвиг значения, лентяй,
карусель.

III. Study lecture 7 and put in the missing prepositions.

New words are produced … combining two or more stems; compounds are
certainly fewer … quantity; to be homogeneous … structure; there are three subtypes
of neutral compounds depending… the structure of the compounds; to consist of
51
simple affixless stems; to be confirmed …; numerous nonce-words are coined … this
pattern; to be few … number; two compounding stems are combined … a linking
vowel or consonant; to be clearly traced … the structures, to create words … the
pattern, criteria ... distinguishing between a compound and a word-combination, to be
applied ... compound words, to deduce the meaning of the whole ... those of the
constituents, to correspond ... the separate meanings, to rely ... the criterion, to be
open ... grammatical changes, peculiar ... its own category as a part of speech, to lead
... the conclusion.

IV. Study lecture 7 and complete the sentences

1. Thе type of word-building, in which new words are produced by combining two or
more stems is called … . 2. There are three aspects of composition: theoretical,
semantic and … . 3. According to the structural aspect compounds are divided into
syntactical, morphological and … . 4. In neutral compounds the process of
compounding is realized by … . 5. There are three subtypes of neutral compounds
depending on … . 6. Simple neutral compounds consist of … . 7. Derivational
compounds are compounds which have … in their structure. 8. Contracted
compounds have a shortened … . 9. Morphological compounds are words in which
two stems are combined by … . 10. Syntactic compounds preserve in their structure
articles, adverbs and … . 11. According to the semantic aspect compounds are
divided into idiomatic and ... . 12. The semantic classification of compounds is based
on the degree of semantic cohesion of ... . 13. The compounds whose meanings do
not correspond to the separate meanings of their constituent parts are called ... . 14.
Compounds whose meanings can be described as the sum of their constituent
meanings are called ... . 15. There are five criteria for distinguishing between a
compound word and a word-group: the graphic criterion, the semantic criterion, the
phonetic criterion, the morphological criterion and ... .

V. Choose true statements

1. The graphic criterion seems to be sufficiently convincing, and in many cases it can
wholly be relied on. 2. According to the graphic criterion a compound word has one
graphic form and hyphenated spelling whereas a word group has two or more
graphic forms. 3. The semantic criterion seems less reliable. 4. The semantic criterion
is based on the possibility of a compound and a word group to convey concepts. 5.
According to the semantic criterion a compound conveys one concept whereas a
word group conveys two or more concepts. 6. The word-group a tall boy conveys two
concepts (1. a young male person; 2. big in size), whereas the compound word tallboy
expresses one concept. 7. The phonetic criterion for compounds may be treated as
that of a single stress. 8. The phonetic criterion is applicable to all compound nouns
and adjectives. 9. According to the morphological criterion in the word-group each of
the constituents is independently open to grammatical changes peculiar to its own
category as a part of speech. 10. In the compound the whole unit is grammatically
variable. 11. In the compound the plural form ending is added to the whole unit:
tallboys. 12. In the compound the first component is grammatically variable. 13.
According to the syntactic criterion other words can be inserted between the
52
constituent parts of the word-group: a tall handsome boy. 14. No word can be
inserted between the components of the compound word.

VI. Questions for dicussion

1. What type of word-building is called composition? 2. There are three aspects of
composition: theoretical, semantic and structural, aren‘t there? 3. What types of
compounds are there according to the structural aspect? 4. Is the process of
compounding in neutral compounds realized by a mere juxtaposition of two stems? 5.
What subtypes can neutral compounds be divided into? 6. Do simple neutral
compounds consist of contracted stems? 7. What compounds are called derivational?
8. What is the semantic classification of compounds based on? 9.What is the
difference between idiomatic and non-idiomatic compounds? 10. What criteria are
there to distinguish between a compound and a word group?

Practicum
I. Find compounds and identify their types.
1. ―The classic example is the use of dot-headed figures to convey quantities; this
clutters up the chart without adding any information, and is often used to convey an
impression that turns out to be false when you look behind the data. So my immediate
reaction whenever I see a publication with a lot of chartjunk is to assume that the
author is trying to put something over on us‖ (The New York Times, May 12, 2011).
2. ―Vending machines are a favorite example among those peddling m-
commerce concepts. Rather than stand in front of a soda machine fishing for a dollar
bill that is neither too faded nor too wrinkled, you may someday simply dial the
phone number posted on the machine‖ (The New York Times, March 2, 2000).
3.―They provide the capital and they will do the board service, but are less inclined to
roll up their sleeves and really work the deals they way they have
traditionally…Some chief executives of venture capital backed companies are calling
them ‗drive-by venture capitalists.‘ They drive by, throw out the money, and attend
the board meetings by telephone. That is not very good‖ (Orange County Business
Journal, July 24, 2000).
4. ―For much of the 1980‘s, mail-order sales grew by about 15 percent a year. That
was triple the growth rate of most department stores and other retailers that depend
on face-to-face sales‖ (The New York Times, November 15, 1999).
5. ―They call it ―drive-by editing.‖ To the naked ear it sounds like the tiresome
whingeing of journalists upset about the way their stories have been mistreated. But
in their more irreverent moments reporters at the Washington Post like to compare it
to its gangland equivalent: a rare act of gratuitous callousness which claims
unsuspecting victims just trying to go about their daily business‖ (The New York
Times, December 15, 1998).
6. ―From there, though, the film turns into a disorganized rant, jumping from Uneeda
Biscuits to the Glass-Steagall Act to kids and their infernal text messaging and
anything else that occurred to Mr. Hoffman or the seemingly random collection of
people he allows to spout off on camera. The whole enterprise has a get-off-my-

53
lawn feel; it tries to pass off whining and a rose-colored-glasses view of the past as
insight‖ (The New York Times, August 16, 2012).

II. Find compounds in the following jokes and extracts and

write them out in three columns: A. Neutral compounds. B. Morphological
compounds. C. Syntactic compounds.

1. Pat and Jack were in London for the first time. During a tour of the shops in the
West End they came to an expensive-looking barber's. "Razors!" exclaimed Pat.
"You want one, don't you? There's a beauty there for twenty-five bob,1 and there's
another for thirty bob. Which would you sooner have?" "A beard," said Jack, walking
off.
2.The children were in the midst of a free-for-all.2 "Richard, who started this?"
asked the father as he came into the room. "Well, it all started when David hit me
back."
3.That night, as they cold-suppered together, Barmy cleared his throat and looked
across at Pongo with a sad sweet smile. "I mean to say, it's no good worrying and
trying to look ahead and plan and scheme and weigh your every action, because you
never can tell when doing such-and-such won't make so-and-so happen — while, on
the other hand, if you do so-and-so it may just as easily lead to such-and-such."
4.When Conan Doyle arrived in Boston, he was at once recognized by the 1
cabman whose cab he engaged. When he was about to pay his fare, the cabman said:
"If you please, sir, I should prefer a ticket to your lecture."
Conan Doyle laughed. "Tell me," he said, "how you knew who I was and I'll give
you tickets for your whole family."
"Thank you, sir," was the answer. "On the side of your travelling-bag is your
name."
5. An old tramp sailed up to the back door of a little English tavern called The
George and Dragon and beckoned to the landlady.
"I've had nothing to eat for three days," he said. "Would you spare an old man a
bite of dinner?"
"I should say not, you good-for-nothing loafer," said the landlady and slammed the
door in his face.
The tramp's face reappeared at the kitchen window. "I was just wonderin'," he said,
"if I could 'ave a word or two with George."
6. "Where are you living, Grumpy?"
"In the Park. The fresh-air treatment is all the thing nowadays."
7. Arriving home one evening a man found the house locked up. After trying to get
in at the various windows on the first floor he finally climbed upon the shed roof and
with much difficulty entered through a second-story window. On the dining-room
table he found a note from his absent-minded wife: "I have gone out. You'll find the
key under the door mat."
8. One balmy, blue-and-white morning the old woman stood in her long, tidy
garden and looked up at her small neat cottage. The thatch on its tip-tilted roof was
new and its well-fitting doors had been painted blue. Its newly-hung curtains were
54
gay... Bird-early next morning Mother Farthing went into the dew-drenched garden.
With billhook and fork she soon set to work clearing a path to the apple tree.
(From Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by R. Dahl)
1

1.bob — a shilling (pi. bob).

2.a free-for-all — a fight without rules in which any number of people join or become
involved.

III. Identify the neutral compounds in the word combinations given below and
write them out in 3 columns: A. Simple neutral compounds. B. Neutral derived
compounds. C. Neutral contracted compounds.
An air-conditioned hall; a glass-walled room; to fight against H-bomb; a loud
revolver-shot; a high-pitched voice; a heavy topcoat; a car's windshield; a snow-white
handkerchief; big A. A. guns; a radio-equipped car; thousands of gold-seekers; a big
hunting-knife; a lightish-coloured man; to howl long and wolflike; to go into
frantic,U-turns (R. поворот "кругом"); to fix M-Day (M-day — the first day of
mobilization) .

IV. Arrange the italicized compounds in the following extracts into two groups:
A. Idiomatic compounds. B. Non-idiomatic compounds. Define the structural
type of the compounds under study.
1. The mammal husband originates from a man in love. Love is only a temporary
transient state, which is lost altogether when the man in love turns into a husband. All
this is very much the same as the spring love-singing with blackbirds. In the morning,
scarcely out of bed, the husband is surprised at being served very hot tea. This proves
that his knowledge of the elementary laws of physics is very poor, for he is obviously
unaware of the fact that water boils at 100 °C, irrespective of one's being or not
being, in a hurry to get to work. Then he shows his annoyance if he has not got a
fresh handkerchief. At such moments he is venomous, and it is better to keep out of
his way. 2. We've some plain, blunt things to say and we expect the same kind of an-
swers, not a lot of double-talk. 3. Picture the dining-room of the John Grier Home
with its oil-cloth-covered tables, and wooden-handed knives and forks. 4. Being a
matchmaker is one thing. A match-breaker is something other. 5. She could imagine
the polite, disinterested tone, the closed-down, non-giving thin expression on the thin,
handsome lady-killer face, still tan with the mountain sun. 6. Crane's brother had
played fullback on the football team, but the brothers had rarely been seen together,
and the fact that the huge, graceful athlete and the scarecrow bookworm were
members of the same family seemed like a freak of eugenics to the students who
knew them both.

V. Arrange the compounds given below into two groups: A. Idiomatic. B. Non-
idiomatic. Say whether the semantic change within idiomatic compounds is
partial or total. Consult the dictionary if necessary.
Light-hearted, adj.; butterfly; homebody, n.; cabman, n.; medium-sized, adj.;
blackberry, n.; good-for-nothing, adj.; wolf-dog; dragon-fly, n.; looking-glass, n.;

55
greengrocer, n.; bluestocking, n.; gooseberry, n.; necklace, n.; earthquake, n.; lazy-
bones, n.

VI. Match the left-hand word with the right hand-hand word to form a
compound. Say whether it’s idiomatic or non-idiomatic. What do the words
mean?
Pigeon day
Salt walk
Free- mark
Dead lizard
Dumb thing
Field hole
Jay for-all
Land cellar
Lounge bell
Nay pan
Play say
Way lay

VII. Identify the compounds in the word-groups below. Say

as much as you can about their structure and semantics.
Emily, our late maid-of-all-work; a heavy snowfall; an automobile; corn-coloured
chiffon; vehicle searchlights, little tidbit1 in The Afro-American;2 German A. A. fire;3
a born troubleshooter; to disembark a stowaway,4 an old schoolmate; a cagelike crate;
a slightly stoop-shouldered man; a somewhat matter-of-fact manner; a fur-lined boot;
to pick forget-me;nots and lilies-of-the-valley; a small T-shirt; a sportscar agency.
1. tidbit— very important news.
2.The Afro American — the name of a newspaper.
3. A A. fire — anti-aircraft fire (R. зенитный огонь).
4.stowaway — one who hides himself on a ship to make a journey without paying.

VIII. Say whether the following lexical units are word-groups or compounds.
Apply the criteria outlined in the foregoing text to motivate your answer.
Railway platform, snowman, light dress, traffic light, railway station, landing field,
film star, white man, hungry dog, medical man, landing plane, top hat, distant star,
small house, green light, evening dress, top student, bluecoat,5 roughhouse,6 booby
trap,7 black skirt, medical student, hot dog, blue dress, U-shaped trap, black shirt8.

56
 Notes:
5.bluecoat — policeman.
6.roughhouse — play that has got out of hand and turned into brawling (R. скандал,
драка).
7.booby trap — a trap laid for the unawary as a practical joke, often humiliating (R.
ловушка).
8.black shirt — a fascist (black shirts were part of uniform of the Italian Fascist
party).

Lecture 8 ―Shortening‖

Vocabulary

Alphabetic(al) abbreviation – буквенная аббревиация

Acronymic abbreviation – акрофонетическая аббревиация
Acronym – акроним
Apocope – апокопа
Aphaeresis – аферезис
Syncope – синкопа
Initial – occurring at the beginning of something
Blending – словослияние
Blend ( telescoped word) – телескопное слово
to merge – to join or unite (one thing) with another
additive – добавочный
restrictive – ограниченный

Exercises
I. Study lecture 8 and give Russian equivalents to the following English words
and word-groups.
Subtracting, initial letters, succession of sounds, scuba, corresponding form, military
ranks, scientific degree, medial clipping, acronym, apocope, aphaeresis, syncope,
process of merging, transformable, modifier, additive blending, restrictive blending.

II. Study lecture 8 and give English equivalents to the following Russian words
and word-groups.
Аббревиатура, начальные буквы, буквенная аббревиация, слоги, сложное слово,
последовательность звуков, Евросоюз, акроним, скуба, экономия усилий, в год,
то есть, воинское звание, ученая степень, бакалавр, формы обращения, единицы
веса, апокопа, реклама, очки, грипп, слияние частей, соответствующая основа,
синкопа, союз, связующий элемент, соединительное сокращение, и так далее,
то есть, в год, а именно, аферезис, ограниченное сокращение.

III. Study lecture 8 and Put in the missing prepositions.

Subtracting phonemes … words, each term stands … a process of word-formation, to
be made up … the initial letters, to have … common, to be transformable … a phrase,
57
to consist … stems, to belong … the semantic field, English equivalents are
pronounced … the full form; graphical abbreviations of native origin dealing … days
of the week; to cut off one or several syllables … a word; to have in common.

IV. Study lecture 8 and complete the sentences

1. Shortening is the process of subtracting phonemes and/or morphemes from words
and word-groups without changing their …. 2. There are three basic types of
shortening: abbreviation, clipping ad … . 3. Abbreviation is a process of shortening
the result of which is a word made up of the initial letters or syllables of the
components of … . 4. There are three types of abbreviation: alphabetical, acronymic
and … . 5. Alphabetic(al) abbreviation (or initial abbreviation) is a shortening which
is read as a succession of … . 6. Acronymic abbreviation (or acronym) is a
shortening which is read as a succession of the sounds … . 7. Graphic(al)
abbreviation is the result of shortening of a word or a word-group only in … . 8. In
graphical abbreviations of Latin origin in spelling Latin words are shortened, but
orally the corresponding English equivalents are pronounced in … . 9. Clipping (also
curtailment) is the process of cutting off … . 10. There are three types of clipping:
apocope, aphaeresis and … . 11. Apocope (or back-clipping ) is a … . 12. Aphaeresis
(or apheresis, aphesis, also fore-clipping ) is an … . 13. Syncope is a … . 14. Fore-
and-aft clipping is an initial and … clipping. 15. Blending is the process of merging
parts of words into one new word - a … . 16. There are two types of blending:
additive and … . 17. Additive blend is a blend which is transformable into a phrase
consisting of the respective complete stems combined by the conjunction … . 18.
Restrictive blend is a blend which is transformable into an attributive phrase where
the first component serves as a … of the second.

V. Choose false statements

1. Shortening is the process of subtracting phonemes and/or morphemes from words
and word-groups without changing their lexico-grammatical meaning. 2. There are
three basic types of shortening: abbreviation, clipping, blending. 3. Abbreviation is a
process of cutting off one or several syllables of a word. 4. There are three types of
abbreviation: alphabetical, acronymic and graphic. 5. Alphabetic(al) abbreviation (or
initial abbreviation) is a shortening which is read as a succession of the sounds
denoted by the constituent letters. 6. Acronymic abbreviation (or acronym) is a
shortening which is read as a succession of the alphabetical readings of the
constituent letters. 7.Graphic(al) abbreviation is the result of shortening of a word or
a word-group only in written speech. 8. Clipping (also curtailment) is the process of
merging parts of words into one new word. 9. There are three types of clipping:
apocope, aphaeresis, syncope. 10. Apocope is an initial clipping. 11. Aphaeresis (or
apheresis, aphesis, also fore-clipping ) is a final clipping. 12. Syncope is a medial
clipping. 13. Blending is the process of shortening the result of which is a word made
up of the initial letters or syllables of the components of a word-group or a compound
word. 14. Additive blend is a blend which is transformable into an attributive phrase
where the first component serves as a modifier of the second.

58
VI. Questions for discussion
1. Is shortening the process of subtracting phonemes and/or morphemes from words
and word-groups with changing their lexico-grammatical meaning? 2. What three
basic types of shortening do you know? 3. What process of shortening is called
abbreviation? 4. What types of abbreviation are there? 5. Is alphabetic(al)
abbreviation a shortening which is read as a succession of the alphabetical readings of
the constituent letters? Give examples. 6. What abbreviation is called acronymic?
Give examples. 7. Why is graphic abbreviation used only in written speech? 8. Are
Latin words in graphical abbreviations are shortened in spelling? 9. Is clipping the
process of merging parts of words into one new word? 10. What types of clipping do
you know? 11. Is apocope a final or initial clipping? Give examples. 12. Is
aphaeresis a final clipping? 13. What is syncope? Give examples. 13. How is the
process of merging parts of words into one new word called? 14. What is additive
blend transformable into? 15. Is restrictive blend a blend which is transformable into
an attributive phrase where the first component serves as a modifier of the second?

Practicum
I. Distribute all the shortenings into groups: a) abbreviations; b) clippings; c)
blends
Smog, mart, prof, Oxbridge, BBC, Mrs, Sun, flu, ad, fridge, scuba, bit, disco, Dr, BA,
Col, NATO, cello, Japlish, brunch, lb, p.a, EU, i.e., Feb, maths, specs, spam, phone,
MTV, tec, Bella,

II. Find the clippings in the following contexts and identify their types:
a) initial clipping;
b) final clipping;
c) medial clipping;
d) initial and final clipping.
What are the words from which these clippings are formed?
1. I got an A minus on the exam... (E. Segal).
2. They teach us vets all about animals' souls (J. Herriot).
3. He had emptied the fridge, packed the food into a box, switched the fridge off
and left the door open (B. Vine).
4. Talking of the lab, we must send you for a blood test (A. Hailey).
5. Oh, my dear, I have a boy of fifteen. I'm a middle-aged gent. In another two or
three years I shall just be a fat old party (W.S. Maugham).
6. German immigrant Levi Strauss patented pants made of a sturdy, dark blue
material called serge de Nimes (fabric from Nimes, France) (Bright Ideas
Calendar).
7. Even before I got miserable marks in math and science they used to ask (J.
Smith).
8. So I did not say anything about the cracked lino, and the paintwork all chipped
(M. Spark).
9. They've been on the phone for an hour (Oxford Advanced Learner's
Encyclopedic Dictionary).
59
 10.Next we heard a noise by the river and advancing carefully saw a hippo cow
and her calf feeding in the lush vegetation on the opposite bank (J. Adamson).
11.A ref blew his whistle (E. Segal).
12.They had good jobs - Liz worked as a product development scientist - and
decided to postpone having children to concentrate on their careers
(Cosmopolitan).
13.What makes you so sure I went to prep school? (E. Segal)
14.Jewish-American research scientist Dr. Jonas Salk developed the first effective
vaccine against polio during the 1950s (Bright Ideas Calendar).
15.He was an elegant old gentleman, as thin and tall as a trout rod, with frazzled
shirt-cuffs and specs on a black string (O. Henry).
16.It was the only labeled room in the condo (J. Grisham).

III. Find the abbreviations in the sentences and establish their types:
a) an alphabetic abbreviation;
b) an acronymic abbreviation.
Say which of them are graphical abbreviations.
1. "You're frightfully B.B.C. in your language this afternoon, Albert," said
Tuppence, with some exasperation (A. Christie).
2. And if you take that to mean that I think you're all right - O.K., that's what I do
think (J.M. Cain).
3. My cousin hadn't met any of these people until they barged into her В & В last
week (M. Daheim).
4. In Nebraska barbers are breaking the law if they eat onions between the hours
of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (Life and Issues in the USA: Past and Present).
5. On the other side are the state of Maryland and the National Organization for
Women, even though their position would cost women money. "There's an
important principle at stake," explains Martha Davies of the NOW Legal
Defense and Education Fund. "Can women be treated differently as a class
simply because they are women?" (U.S. News & World Report).
6. I am an M.D., you know, and before I specialized I did a good deal of general
work in a hospital. The fact that I'm first and foremost a bacteriologist is all to
the good. It will be an admirable chance for research work (W.S. Maugham).
7. We overstretched ourselves slightly when we bought a run-down three-
bedroom house just outside London, but I was happy renovating it - DIY
wasn't Mike's thing (Cosmopolitan).
8. By shrewdly capitulating at the crucial moment - i.e., by pretending that I
suddenly wanted to - I got my book (E. Segal).
9. I hear the RSPCA had a man in court last week over a job like that (J. Herriot).
10.Jenny at one time thought D.C. might be good... but I leaned toward New York
(E. Segal).
11.Yeah, but why is it I suddenly wish my name was Abigail Adams, or Wendy
WASP? (E. Segal).

60
12.As soon as she had been old enough, she had begun to help her mother with the
washing, in addition to attending the school; then her mother had died of T.B.
and her aunt had left the location with "another man" (D. Jacobson).
13.It‘s called AOS,‘ they say, using a barracks abbreviation for ‗all options stink‘
(New York Times News Service, September 30, 2001).
14.What those officials rarely acknowledge is how much that four-wheeled love
affair is actually costing us. Various research studies conducted over the last 20
years strongly suggest that commuting by car — which is how 91 percent of
residents in metro Atlanta get around each day — is not only expensive, but
also takes a serious toll on our health and quality of life. A new term has even
been coined to describe the deleterious effects of sitting behind the wheel for
too long, ―Repetitive Driving Injury,‖ or RDI‖ (The Atlanta Journal-
Constitution, April 9, 2007).
15.Ford says the Edge is the most important launch of any vehicle all year, and if
you take a careful look you can see why. The Edge is a crossover utility
vehicle, or CUV, which means that it wants to cross back over the line that
separates cars from trucklike SUVs, built on truck platforms and given to ride
much like a truck. CUVs, the automakers say, are essentially more carlike than
trucklike‖ (The San Francisco Chronicle, October 29, 2006).
16.Kendall Jones, Fishbone‘s resident intellectual, leans forward in an old folding
chair, hair in little dreads, clad in a satin Spike Lee promotional jacket. He
looks a little angry… Jones tells a story about being arrested in West
Hollywood on a ―DWB‖ — ―driving while black‖ — offense‖ (Los Angeles
Times, April 7, 2001).
17.Nebraska is on the low end for text messaging. Nationally, 28 percent of the
survey respondents admitted to driving while texting, based on the survey
commissioned by vlingo Corp., which sells software it says will translate voice
to text on a cell phone. In fact, the practice has become so common that state
legislatures have begun making it a traffic violation with its own acronym —
DWT (driving while texting). About 52 percent of respondents 20 to 29 years
old report they text while behind the wheel, and 50 percent of teenagers admit
to DWT, according to the vlingo survey‖ (Lincoln Journal Star, June 5, 2008).
18.But what did they see as the difference between severe and acute?
―I asked this question, too, when we came up with the name. In medicine,
severe is ‗grave‘ and acute means ‗suddenly.‘ This respiratory syndrome
caused great harm (severe) and had a rapid onset (acute). Later, when we had
conclusive evidence that a new coronavirus is the cause of the disease, we
named it the SARS virus.‖ (The New York Times, May 4, 2003).
19.Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of
Your Fast-Growth Firm by Verne Harnish. It taught us to set shorter term
targets and what Harnish calls a BHAG, or big hairy audacious goal. It has
really kept us growing at astounding rates‖ (Inc, October 2003).
20.Companies in 2012 generally conceded that BYOD is unstoppable. That said,
workers who opt to join the BYOD craze this year won‘t have the same free-

61
 wheeling experiences that characterized the trend in its earlier stages‖ (USA
Today, January 7, 2013).

IV. Specify the types and subtypes of the underlined shortenings.

1. He inquired whether Dr. Fane was in (W.S. Maugham).
2. We stopped our bikes and stared through the mouth of that tunnel and I could
tell they were just as scared as I was even though they were older (S. Shepard).
3. The European Headache Foundation (EHF) is concerned misuse of painkillers
could be causing headaches rather than curing them (Cosmopolitan).
4. He ought to be the man in command and he was quite determined to oust Col.
Andrews if it could possibly be done (A. Christie).
5. Other teams have fused goat embryos with sheep embryos, to produce a new
life-form they call a geep (Listener).
6. Even the children's clinic, which was to grow into a hospital and a research
station, was more real to me than - say - the puzzled misery of the last time he
came home on leave just after V.E.Day (M. Allingham).
7. Danish immigrants of the late 1800s brought with 'them information about a
new kind of business: the cooperative. How does a co-op work? (Bright Ideas
Calendar).
8."I need your expertise," Bundy said. (Avery lapped up that sort of flattery.)
"How does five cc.'s compare with five hundred mg.'s?"
9. "It doesn't. Five cc.'s is a liquid measure. It's a spoonful."
10."What I want to know is, how much vitamin С am I getting in five cc.'s?" (W.
Morris).
11.He said, "What do you do in the evenings, Lorna? Do you watch Telly?" I did
take this as an insult, because we call it TV, and his remark made me out to be
uneducated (M. Spark).
12.Springtime... is a welcome time for workaholics, and perhaps a better time for
"resolutions" than during the cold grim days of January and February. And the
recent studies on SAD (Seasonal Affective Depression) seem to confirm this
(Daily Telegraph).
13.Paine, who jumps from a plane but has forgotten his chute, is not in a decision-
making situation (T.J. Cooney).
14.He allowed that even world leaders needed constructive criticism now and
then. I took this to be a not-too-subtle allusion to his stint in Washington
during the first Roosevelt Administration. But I was not about to set him up to
reminisce about F.D.R., or his role in U.S. bank reform (E. Segal).
15.Aquacise teachers use routines devised by ex swimming
instructress/synchronised swimmer Jennifer Horrocks; physiotherapists at local
hospitals and GPs have also created some routines (Essentials).
16.He was from LA and, for the next two months, we exchanged faxes, letters,
phone calls and increasingly» affectionate e-mails (Cosmopolitan).
17.It‘s not just downscale beer companies that have taken to murketing. To
popularize its youth-focused Scion brand, Toyota held parties for editors of
indie magazines with names like Art Prostitute. Red Bull is thought to have
62
 spent hundreds of millions of dollars on ―stealth‖ events, financing
competitions for, among other things, kiteboarding, video gaming and break-
dancing‖ (The New York Times, July 27, 2008).
18.What is a mancession, you ask? It‘s not this. It‘s a recession that hurts men
much more than women, and we are allegedly in the worst mancession in
recent history. Eighty percent of job losses in the last two years were among
men, said AEI scholar Christina Hoff Summers, and it could get worse‖ (The
Atlantic, July 9, 2009).
19.But the past year has also cruelly exposed the weaknesses of Putinomics,
showing how it relied on rising commodity prices and cheap foreign credit‖
(Financial Times, August 24, 2009).
20.The kind of mindless Internet advocacy Upworthy‘s been accused of
promoting has inspired a new word: clicktivism. Clicktivists mistake
gratification for meaning. They conflate feeling good (or self-satisfied or
inspired or righteously indignant) with doing good. They watch a video of a
kid sharing his lunch with another kid, forward it to their social networks or
sign a petition, congratulate themselves on their political involvement, close
the browser window, and diminish the definition of service for everyone‖
(Slate Magazine, May 23, 2014).
21.Nobody wants to speak to soon, but the horrors of the past 12 months seem far
away. Nothing has changed, of course. All the old nasties are still there,
including looming Eurogeddon, but we‘re told that every possible hazard has
been priced in‖ (Business LIVE, January 21, 2012).
22.During the 1990s, Sears established himself as the most visible breast-feeding
spokesman in the United States. … So loyal fans and followers of Sears were
shocked to find that his site featured prominent banner ads promoting infant
formula. … Ask DrSears.com, which debuted in November, represents Sears‘
bid to expand his media presence to the Internet. The site has become the target
of an angry letter-writing campaign by pro-breast-feeding parents, medical
professionals and ‗lactivists‘ all over the world‖ (Chicago Sun-Times,
February 2, 2001).
23.Nationwide, a growing number of ―vloggers,‖ or ―video bloggers,‖ such as
Prodoehl are posting primitive videos online and inviting viewers to respond
with text or video reactions. The trend is new enough that it‘s difficult to know
just how many people are vlogging — even leading research firms such as the
Pew Internet & American Life Project have no data on it. But it‘s likely that
the number of vloggers is still small. One indication: A recent check of the
Yahoo video blogging group showed it had about 1,200 members‖ (Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel, September 4, 2005).
24.Another blog much reviled after its exposure as a flog was created by Edelman,
part of Daniel J. Edelman Inc., on behalf of Wal-Mart Stores. The flog posed
as the travel diary of a couple, but did not disclose they were paid for their
upbeat posts about Wal-Mart‖ (The New York Times, December 18, 2006).

63
V. Choose shortenings
Adultescent, BAM, advergame, flog, spim, handicapitalism, magalogue, NEET,
bullycide, playlistism, pinkification, NOPE, pinkwashing, coolhunter, birther,
murketing, femaliest, fractivist, cinemad, hardlink, lactivist, Ipodder.

VI.Guess the blends.

murky + marketing, video + blog, cinema + advertising, adult + adolescent,
advertising + computer game, fake + blog, magazine + catalogue, bully + suicide,
market + architecture.
Bullycide, vlog, adultescent, advergame, murketing, magalogue, marketecture,
cinemad, flog.

VII. A) Try to guess from the context what products the given names advertise.
B) Name the source-words of blends. C) Say what the rationale behind each
blend is.
1. Chewels
a. chewing transparent candies
b. candies in the form of a jewel
c. sugarless liquid-centre chewing gum
2. Charmaternity
a. nursing and maternity bras
b. utensils for child-feeding
c. apparel for pregnant women
3. Crystalace
a. tiles
b. exquisite lace
c. decorative ledges patterned after lace
4. Pleascent
a. perfume
b. hair permanent
c. herbal shampoo
5. Scriptip
a. markers
b. erasers
c. correction liquid
6. Slimderella
a. rubber girdles
b. tights
c. pills for losing weight
7. Softint
a. hair colouring
b. paintbrushes
c. markers

64
VIII. Assign the blends below to one of the seven thematic groups and define
their components? The thematic groups are as follows: 1) journalism, 2)
advertising, 3) politics and business, 4) cinematography, 5) culinary, 6) students’
slang, 7) computer (all blends are real):
Appeteasing, Chindia, europreneurs, amBUSHed, pandaplomacy, aquamatic,
aristicat, cosmedicake, fabulash, filmusical, cinemagnate, docufantasy, autoslobile,
basketbrawl, frappuccino, lamburger, D-graded, examnesia, herbacue, qualitea, Indy-
pendence, netpreneurs, n(euro)sis, diplonomics, dramassassin, fuelishness,
tragicomedy, clamato, crunchips, croissandwich, Bushonomics, blog, emoticon,
netiquette, netizen.

Revision

I. Organize the following words into groups taking into account their word-
building patterns – composition, derivation, shortening, conversion
zestimate (v.); womenomics (n.); inland (adv.); webonoics (n.); stressresistant (adj.);
headfirst (adv.); waiflike (adj.); semicircle (n.); telegenic (adj.); enslave (v.);
telephone (n.) ; washave ( v.); toycoon (n.); overdo (v.); squarectangle (n.); carjack
(v.); outwit (v.); eurepair (n.); whitecollar (n.); clamburger (n.); ensnare (v.);
anticlockwise (adv.); bootique (n.); booklegger (n.); tragicomic (adj.); torrible (adj.);
slimnastics (n.); roundwich (n.); treetop (n.); quicktionary (n.); homicide (n.);
qatnapper (n.); pupcorn (n.); irregardless (adj.); leadvantage (n.); genomics (n.);
classociation (n.); copelessness (n.); St. Petersburg; Edinburgh; buttlegger (n.);
disctraction (n.); attraction (n.); netsomnia (n.); nescape (n.); motorcade (n.);
butterine (n.); bushonomics (n.); brewtal (adj.); clockwise (adv.); parapsychology
(n.); eavesdrop (v.); outcastaway (n.) ; newseum (n.); technocrat (n.); moneymoon
(n.); childlike (adj.); telephone (n.); desktop (n.); defendamins (n.); brathlete (n.).

II. Describe the word-building pattern of each word.

to feel towny; Spanish acquistadores (about Mexican banks); a big falsey-toothy
smile; to be pally with smb; webonomics; laboRATory; a question of omenish nature;
travelocity; meritocracy; retronym; women in tentish dresses; pill-gotten gains; $tar;
to feel lovingful of smb.; propheteering; x-ray; radar; laser; to feel déjà-vu-sque;
dancercise; winterval; prequel; PFInancial services; to lead an applauseless life; an
oletimey pitcher of tea; medicase; car-clogged highway; n(euro)sis; kidult; bucket-
eared; kyatastrophe; razorthin whisper; badvantage; blog; to speak in a
clenchedteethedly way; glocalisation; bachelord; replicant; delicate spindly-thin
boors; misunderestimate; taxicology; cyberspace; contradictate; robotics; flashy-darty
look, eyes; Beatles; weekend-empty place; stressure; xenocide.

III. Define the particular type of word-building process by which the following
words were made and say as much as you can about them.
A mike; to babysit; to buzz; a torchlight; homelike; theatrical; old-fashioned; to book;
unreasonable; SALT;1 Anglo-American; to murmur; a pub; to dillydally; okay;
eatable; a make; a greenhorn;2 posish; a dress coat;3 to bang; merry-go-round; H-bag;
65
B.B.C.; thinnish; to blood-transfuse; a go; to quack; M.P.; to thunder; earthquake; D-
region4; fatalism; a find.

Notes
1.SALT — strategic armament limitation talks.
2
greenhorn— a raw, simple, inexperienced person, easily fooled.
3
dress coat — a black, long-tailed coat worn by men for formal evening occasions.
4
D-region — the lowest region of the ionosphere extending from 60 to 80 km

Lecture 9. Some of the Minor Types of Modern Word-Building

Practicum

I. What is the type of word-building by which the italicized words in the

following extracts were made?
1. If they'd anything to say to each other, they could hob-nob over beef-tea in a
perfectly casual and natural manner. 2. No sooner had he departed than we were
surrounded by cats, six of them, all miaowing piteously at once. 3. A man who has
permitted himself to be made a thorough fool of is not anxious to broadcast the fact.
4. "He must be a very handsome fellow," said Sir Eustace. "Some young whipper-
snapper in Durban." 5. In South Africa you at once begin to talk about a stoep — I do
know what a stoep is — it's the thing round a house and you sit on it. In various other
parts of the world you call it a veranda, a piazza, and a ha-ha. 6.All about him black
metal pots were boiling and bubbling on huge stoves, and kettles were hissing, and
pans were sizzling, and strange iron machines were clanking and spluttering. 7.I took
the lib of barging in. 8. I'd work for him, slave for him, steal for him, even beg or
borrow for him. 9. I've been meaning to go to the good old exhibish for a long time.
10. Twenty years of butling had trained him to wear a mask
Notes:
to hob-nob — to be on familiar terms.
whipper-snapper — young, esp. undersized boy who behaves with more self-
importance than is proper.
ha-ha — fence, hedge or wall hidden in a ditch or trench so as not to interrupt a
landscape.

II. Study the following back-formed words, specify their meaning, say what
word they are derived from. Check whether any of them are registered by
dictionaries. What accounts for their lack of representation in dictionaries?
sculpt, intuit, liaise, enthuse, donate, surveille, diagnose, swindle, escalate, sleaze,
grunge, embeds, to jell, to automate, to jubilate, to emote, laze, televise.

III. Onomatopoeic words are represented sparingly in the English word stock,
however, a number of them play an important role in everyday communication,

66
most of them are also registered by dictionaries. Below is a list of onomatopoeic
words produced by animals. Which of the sounds seem unusual to you?
A bee – buzz
A bird – chirp, chirrup
A small bird – peep, tweet
A cat – purr
A cow – moo
A crow – caw
A dog – bow-wow, woof
A donkey – he-haw
A dove or a pigeon – coo
A goose – honk
A grasshopper – chirr
A hen – clucks
A horse – neigh, whinny
An owl – hoot
A pig – oink
A snake – hiss
A sheep – baa
A turkey – gobble

IV. Paraphrase the following onomatopoeic words and translate them into
Russian.
Babble, blab, gab, holler, jab- ber, natter, stutter, susurrate, tattle, whine, yada-yada-
yada, yap, gargle, gurgle, ululate, zap, sizzle, wheeze, whiz, chug, clip- clip, flip-flop.

V.Study the reduplicatives below, specify their type and function and say in
what sphere of communication they are predominantly used.
Choo-choo, doo-doo, pee-pee; honey-bunny, itty-bitty, itsy-bitsy, lovey-dovey; Dilly-
dally, flim-flam, hobnob, shilly-shally, wishywashy; boogie-woogie, chit-chat, pitter-
patter, seesaw, walkie-talkie; knick-knack, hodge-podge, mishmash, pell-mell; riff-
raff, fuddy-duddy, helter-skelter, higgledy-piggledy, nitty-gritty, roly-poly, super-
duper, teeny-weeny, willy-nilly.

UNIT4. SEMASIOLOGY

Lecture 10. What is Meaning? The Semantic Structure of the Word

Vocabulary
To possess – to have
To endow smth with smth – to provide with
Referent – object denoted by the word
Dormant – in a state of inactivity
To convert – to change from one form into another

67
denotative component – денотативный компонент
connotative component – коннотативный компонент
emotive connotation – эмотивная коннотация
evaluative connotation – оценочная коннотация
connotation of duration – коннотация длительности
connotation of cause – коннотация причины

Thought or Reference (concept)

Symbol Referent
(word dove)

Denotative components
lonely, adj. alone, without company
notorious, widely known
adj.
celebrated, widely known
to glare, v.
adj. to look
to glance, v. to look
to shiver, v. to tremble
to shudder, v to tremble

Denotative + Connotative
components components
alone, melancholy,
lonely, adj. without + sad Emotive
company connotation

notorious, widely + for criminal Evaluative

adj. known acts or bad connotation,
traits of negative
character

Evaluative
68 connotation, negative
celebrated,
ad for special achievement in
 for special
celebrated widely + Evaluative
achievements
adj. known connotation,
in science
and art positive

to look | +
steadily, lastingly
in anger, rage, etc. steadily, 1. Connotation
to glare, v. == 1.to look
Connotation lastingly
of duration of duration
=> 2. Emotive connotation
+
in anger, 2. Emotive
rage сonnotation

to glance to look briefly, Connotation of

v. + passingly duration duration of
to shiver, v. duration
1.Connotation
+ lastingly of duration
to shiver, v. to tremble +
2. Connotation
with the cold of cause
1

briefly 1.Connotation of
duration
to shudder to tremble +
v. 2. Connotation
with horror, of cause
disgust 3. Emotive
connotation

Exercises
I. Study lecture 10 and give Russian equivalents to the following English words
and word-groups.
To endow, referent, to possess, to denote, triangle, dotted line, dormant, to spring into
mind, Denotative component, connotative component, emotive connotation,
evaluative connotation, connotation of duration, connotation of cause, lonely,
notorious, celebrated, to glare, to glance, to shiver, to shudder, alone, to tremble,
widely known, lastingly, in rage, bad traits of character, steadily, passingly, briefly,
horror, disgust.

II. Study lecture 10 and give English equivalents to the following Russian words
69
and word-groups.
Наделять чем-либо, бездействующий, пунктирная линия, треугольник,
референт, концепт, семантика, приходить на ум, денотативный компонент,
знаменитый, коннотативный компонент, широко известный, эмотивная
коннотация, в ужасе, от холода, пристально смотреть, постоянно, плохие черты
характера, одинокий, трястись, продолжительно, оценочная коннотация, в
одиночестве, коннотация причины, взглянуть, с пренебрежением, печально
известный, трястись от холода, в ярости, вздрогнуть

III. Study the lecture and put in the missing prepositions.

Meaning is a component of the word … which a concept is communicated, to endow
the word … the ability, relationships … referent, concept, and word, to establish
relation between word and referent … the concept, referent is an object denoted …
the word, concepts are converted … words, to specialize … the study … meaning, to
stand … the expressive aspect … the language, the modern approach … semantics, to
be based … assumption, the leading semantic component … the semantic structure
… a word; the conceptual content … a word; to include … the scheme … analysis
additional semantic components; introducing connotative components … the
schemes;well known … criminal acts or bad traits of character; widely known …
special achievement … science; to look … anger; to tremble …cold.

IV. Questions for discussion.

1. What is the very function of the word? 2. What is communication made possible
by? 3. What is the most important characteristic of a word? 4. How can meaning be
described? 5. What are the complex relationships between referent, concept, and
word represented by? 6. What is referent? 7. What is concept? 8. Is there immediate
relation between word and referent? 9. What is this relation established through? 10.
Can concepts find their realization through words? 11. What branch of linguistics
specializes in the study of meaning? 12. What structure is called the semantic
structure of the word?

Practicum
I. Match words and their denotative components.
To shudder widely known
to shiver alone
lonely to look
notorious to tremble
to glare
to glance
celebrated

II. Match words and their definitions.

Lonely widely known for criminal acts
To shudder to tremble with cold
To glare without company
70
To glance to tremble with disgust
To shiver widely known for achievements in art
Notorious to look lastingly
Celebrated to look briefly

III. Try your hand at the following research work.

a. Illustrate the semantic structure of one of the following words with a diagram; use
the dictionary if necessary.
Foot, n.; hand, n.; ring, n.; stream, n.; warm, adj.; green, adj.; sail,n.; key, n.; glass, n.;
eye, n.
b. Identify the denotative and connotative elements of the
meanings in the following pairs of words.
To conceal — to disguise, to choose — to select, to draw — to paint, money —
cash, photograph — picture, odd — queer.
c. Read the entries for the English word "court" and the Russian "суд" in an English-
Russian and Russian-English dictionary. Explain the differences in the semantic
structure of both words.

IV. Define the meanings of the words in the following sentences. Say how the
meanings of the same word are associated one with another
1. I walked into Hyde Park, fell flat upon the grass and almost immediately fell
asleep. 2. a) 'Hello', I said, and thrust my hand through the bars, whereon the dog
became silent and licked me prodigiously, b) At the end of the long bar, leaning
against the counter was a slim pale individual wearing a red bow-tie. 3. a) I began to
search the flat, looking in drawers and boxes to see if I could find a key. b) I tumbled
with a sort of splash upon the keys of a ghostly piano, c) Now the orchestra is playing
yellow cocktail music and the opera of voices pitches a key higher, d) Someone with
a positive manner, perhaps a detective, used the expression 'madman' as he bent over
Welson's body that afternoon, and the authority of his voice set the key for the
newspaper report next morning. 4. a) Her mouth opened crookedly half an inch, and
she shot a few words at one like pebbles, b) Would you like me to come to the mouth
of the river with you? 5. a) I sat down for a few minutes with my head in my hands,
until I heard the phone taken up inside and the butler's voice calling a taxi, b) The
minute hand of the electric clock jumped on to figure twelve, and, simultaneously,
the steeple of St. Mary's whose vicar always kept his clock by the wireless began its
feeble imitation of Big Ben. 6. a) My head felt as if it were on a string and someone
were trying to pull it off. b) G. Quartermain, board chairman and chief executive of
Supernational Corporation was a bull of a man who possessed more power than many
heads of the state and exercised it like a king.

V. Copy out the following pairs of words grouping together the ones which
represent the same meaning of each word. Explain the different meanings and
the different usages, giving reasons for your answer. Use dictionaries if
necessary.
smart, adj.
71
smart clothes, a smart answer, a smart house, a smart garden, a smart repartee, a
smart officer, a smart blow, a smart punishment
stubborn, adj.
a stubborn child, a stubborn look, a stubborn horse, stubborn resistance, a stubborn
fighting, a stubborn cough, stubborn depression
sound, adj.
sound lungs, a sound scholar, a sound tennis-player, sound views, sound advice,
sound criticism, a sound ship, a sound whipping
root, n.
edible roots, the root of the tooth, the root of the matter, the root of all evil, square
root, cube root
perform, v.
to perform one's duty, to perform an operation, to perform a dance, to perform a play
kick, v.
to kick the ball, to kick the dog, to kick off one's slippers, to kick smb. downstairs

VI. The verb "to take" is highly polysemantic in Modern English. On which
meanings of the verb are the following jokes based? Give your own examples to
illustrate the other meanings of the word.
1."Where have you been for the last four years?"
"At college taking medicine."
"And did you finally get well?"
2."Doctor, what should a woman take when she is run down?"
"The license number, madame, the license number."
3.Proctor (exceedingly angry): So you confess that this unfortunate Freshman was
carried to this frog pond and drenched.
Now what part did you take in this disgraceful affair?
Sophomore (meekly): The right leg, sir.

VII. Explain the basis for the following jokes. Use the dictionary when in doubt.
1. Ca1le r: I wonder if I can see your mother; little boy. Is she engaged!
Willie: Engagedl She's married.
2.Booking Clerk (at a small village station): You'll have to change twice before
you get to York.
Villager (unused to travelling): Goodness me! And I've only brought the clothes
I'm wearing.
3. The weather forecaster hadn't been right in three months, and his resignation
caused little surprise. His alibi, however, pleased the city council.
"I can't stand this town any longer," read his note. "The climate doesn't agree with
me."
4. Professor: You missed my class yesterday, didn't you?
Unsubdued student: Not in the least, sir, not in the least.
5."Papa, what kind of a robber is a page?"
"A what?"
"It says here that two pages held up the bride's train."
72
 VIII. Dwell on the pragmatic component of the meaning of the words bellow.
With what stylistic characteristics does the pragmatic component go hand in
hand?
Thickhead, hay-head, atom-buster, rubblehead, hash-head, balloon-buster,
puddinghead, airhead, belly, buster, knucklehead, grasshead, brush buster, crackhead,
pot-head, button-buste,r chickenhead, tea head, cop-buster, bonehead, weedhead,
crime buster, dust-head, gangbuster, ghost buster, kidney-buster, knuckle-buster,
molly-buster, need-buster, racket buster, sin-buster, spy-buster, tank-buster, trust-
buster, union-buster.

Lecture 11. Polysemy

Vocabulary

Indissoluble – that cannot be decomposed

to claim – to assert, to demand
to lack in … - to have none, to be deficient in …
twofold – double
drawback – disadvantage
to oust – to put out of possession
link – a person or thing that unites or connects two others
to arrange – to put into order
miscellaneous – of mixed composition or character, of various kinds
implication – what is involved or implied in smth. else
deficiency – lack
to reveal – to display, to show

Dull, adj.
1. Uninteresting, monotonous, boring; e. g. a dull book, a dull film.
2. Slow in understanding, stupid; e. g. a dull student.
3. Not clear or bright; e. g. dull weather, a dull day, a dull colour.
4. Not loud or distinct; e. g. a dull sound.
5. Not sharp; e. g. a dull knife.
6. Not active; e. g. Trade is dull.
7. Seeing badly; e. g. dull eyes (arch.).
8. Hearing badly; e. g. dull ears (arch.),
Dull, adj.
I. Uninteresting -- > deficient in interest or excitement.
II. Stupid ---------- > deficient in intellect.
III. Not bright ------> deficient in light or colour.
IV. Not loud ----- > deficient in sound.
V. Not sharp ------ > deficient in sharpness.
VI. Not active ----- > deficient in activity.
VII. Seeing badly---- > deficient in eyesight.
VIII. Hearing badly --- > deficient in hearing.
73
 Fire, n.
I
Flame

II III IV V

An Burning The Strong feeling,

instance of material in a shooting of passion, enthusiasm;
destructive stove, guns, etc.; e. g. a speech lacking
burning; fireplace, e. g. fire.
e. g. a etc.; e. g. to open
forest fire. There is a (cease)
fire in the fire.
next room. A
camp fire.

Exercises

I. Study lecture 11 and give Russian equivalents to the following English words
and word-groups.
Indissoluble, corresponding number, to deal with the questions, to claim, to be
applied to several phenomena, to convey concepts, to increase twofold, hence,
drawback, means for enriching the vocabulary, merely, to oust, total number, to be
treated as … , frequent meanings, the above scheme, instances, the main meaning,
secondary meaning, barrister, counter, to prevent, court-room, to be arranged on a
principle, generalized meaning, dull, dull student, dull weather, a dull day, a dull
colour, distinct, dull knife, dull sound, dull eyes, dull ears, miscellaneous,
implication, deficiency, wits, sharpness, insufficient quality, to prove the point,
eyesight, to single out, to reveal, deeper level, sets of components, componential
analysis, inner structure.

II. Study lecture 11 and give English equivalents to the following Russian words
and word-groups.
Неспособный распадаться на …, обозначать концепт, выражать концепт,
обладать значениями, возникать (о вопросах), иметь дело с …, вопросы
лингвистики, заявлять, применять к различным явлениям, увеличиваться в два
раза, следовательно, недостаток, с другой стороны, вытеснять, общее число,
качественный рост, сущность явления, основное значение, второстепенное
значение, быть организованным по принципу, едва ли можно надеяться, зрение;
смешанные, неоднородные значения; отсутствие, нехватка; недостаточный,
доказать точку зрения, выделить компонент, компонентный анализ, выявлять,
набор компонентов, внутренняя структура.

74
III. Study lecture 11 and put in the missing prepositions.
To stand … a concept, … connection with polysemy, to deal … the questions, to
depend … the degree, to be well informed … linguistic matters, to lack … words, the
need … polysemy, to be applied … several phenomena, means … enriching the
vocabulary, to consist … adding new words, to provide … the growth, to distinguish
… two levels of analysis, … the first level, to hold the dominance … the other
meanings, to be associated … one another, to establish associations … the meanings,
to prevent people … passing, to be arranged … a different principle, to be subjected
… a transformational operation,

IV. Give antonyms. Use the lecture.

Dissoluble, to decrease, advantage, appearance, hardly, interesting, sufficient,
polysemantic, included.

V. Study lecture 11 and choose false statements.

1. The semantic structure of a word presents an indissoluble unity. 2. The semantic
structure of the word stands always for one concept. 3. A word having several
meanings is called polysemantic. 4. The ability of words to have more than one
meaning is called polysemy. 5. Polysemy is an anomaly in the English language. 6. A
well developed polysemy is a drawback in a language. 7. Polysemy becomes
increasingly important in providing the means for enriching the vocabulary. 8. The
processes of polysemy development involve the appearance of new meanings and the
loss of old ones. 9. There are two levels of analysis of the semantic structure of a
polysemantic word. 10. On the first level, the semantic structure of a word is treated
as a system of semantic components within each separate meaning. 11. On the second
level the semantic structure of a word is investigated as a system of meanings. 12.
The main meaning presents the centre of the semantic structure of any polysemantic
word. 13. The main meaning conveys the concept in the most general way. 14. The
secondary meanings are associated with special circumstances, aspects, and instances
of the same phenomenon. 15. The main meaning of the word ―fire‖ is a ―burning
material in a fireplace‖. 16. The secondary meaning of the word ―fire‖ is a ―strong
feeling, passion, enthusiasm‖. 17. In the semantic structure of a polysemantic word
secondary meanings are hardly associated with the main meaning. 18. The semantic
structure of a word is divisible only at the level of different meanings.

VI. Prove that:

1. Most words covey several concepts. 2. A well developed polysemy is not a
drawback in a language. 3. Polysemy is important in providing the means for
enriching the vocabulary. 4. On the first level of the word‘s analysis the semantic
structure of the word is treated as a system of meanings. 5. On the second level of the
word‘s analysis the semantic structure of the word is investigated as a set of semantic
components within each separate meaning.

V. Questions for discussion.

1. Does the semantic structure of a word present an indissoluble unity? 2. Does the
75
semantic structure of the word necessarily stand always for one concept? 3. What
word is called polysemantic? 4. How can polysemy be defined? 5. Polysemy is an
anomaly in the English language, isn‘t it? 6. Does polysemy become increasingly
important in providing the means for enriching the vocabulary? 7. Do the processes
of polysemy development involve the appearance of new meanings and the loss of
the old ones? 8. There are two levels of analysis of the semantic structure of a
polysemantic word, aren‘t there? 9. How is the semantic structure of a word treated
on the first level of the semantic analysis? 10. What meanings does the semantic
structure of the word ―fire‖ include? 11. The main meaning in the semantic structure
of any polysemantic word presents the centre of it‘s semantic structure, doesn‘t it?
12. Does main meaning convey the concept in the most general way? 13. What is the
main meaning of the word ―fire‖? 14. What are the secondary meanings usually
associated with? 15. What are the secondary meanings of the word ―fire‖? 16. Is the
semantic structure of a word divisible only at the level of different meanings?

VI. Fill in the gaps with the words given below.

to distinguish, flame, connotative, characteristics, components, system, single out,
denotative, semantics, fire, secondary, community, centre, indissoluble, meaning,
concepts, polysemantic, semantic polysemy, advantage, expressive, expresses,
enriching, abstract notions, componential.
1. The very function of the word as a unit of communication is made possible by its
possessing … . 2. Among the word‘s various … meaning is the most important. 3.
Meaning is a component of the word which endows a word with the ability of
denoting real objects, qualities, actions and … . 4. The meanings of all the utterances
of a speech community include the total experience of that … . 5. The branch of
linguistics which specializes in the study of meaning is called … . 6. The modern
approach to semantics is based on assumption that the inner form of the word
presents a … structure of the word. 7. The semantic structure of the word doesn‘t
present an …. unity and doesn‘t stand for one concept. 8. Most words convey several
… and thus possess the corresponding number of meanings. 9. A word having several
meanings is called … . 10. The ability of words to have more than one meaning is
called … . 11. A well-developed polysemy is not a great … in a language. 12. The
wealth of … resources of a language depends on the degree to which polysemy has
developed in the language. 13. The process of … the vocabulary consists in the
constant development of polysemy. 14. When analyzing the semantic structure of a
polysemantic word, it is necessary … between two levels of analysis. 15. On the first
level, the semantic structure of a word is treated as a… of meanings. 16. In the
semantic structure of a polysemantic word the first meaning usually presents the …
of the semantic structure and it is known as the main meaning. 17. All other meanings
are called … , they are associated with one another mainly through the main
meaning. 18. In the semantic structure of a noun fire the main meaning is … . 19.
The secondary meanings of the noun … are an instance of destructive burning;
burning material in a stove, fireplace; the shooting of guns; strong feeling, passion,
enthusiasm. 20. On the second level of analysis of the semantic structure of a word
each separate meaning is subjected to the … analysis. 21. In terms of componential
76
analysis the meaning of a word is defined as a set of … . 22. The leading semantic
component in the semantic structure of a word is usually termed … component. 23. It
… the conceptual content of the word. 24. The additional semantic component is the
… component. 25. In the semantic structure of the verb to glare we can … the
denotative component to look and the connotative components steadily, lastingly and
in anger, rage.

Reading

Text ―Meaning and Context‖

Vocabulary
Preventative – smth. serving to prevent
Thorough – detailed, complete
To cast – to move by throwing
To linger – to stay
Sheer – mere, simple
To experience – to have knowledge or skill as the result of experience
Ultimate – last, final
To remain – continue to be

One of the most important "drawbacks" of polysemantic words is that there is

sometimes a chance of misunderstanding when a word is used in a certain meaning
but accepted by a listener or reader in another. It is only natural that such cases
provide stuff of which jokes are made, such as the ones that follow:
Customer: I would like a book, please.
Bookseller: Something light?
Customer: That doesn't matter. I have my car with me.
In this conversation the customer is honestly misled by the polysemy of the
adjective light taking it in the literal sense whereas the bookseller uses the word in its
figurative meaning "not serious; entertaining".
It is common knowledge that context is a powerful preventative against any
misunderstanding of meanings. For instance, the adjective dull, if used out of context,
would mean different things to different people or nothing at all. It is only in
combination with other words that it reveals its actual meaning: a dull pupil, a dull
play, a dull razor-blade, dull weather, etc. Sometimes, however, such a minimum
context fails to reveal the meaning of the word, and it may be correctly interpreted
only through what Professor N. Amosova termed a second-degree context, as in the
following example: The man was large, but his wife was even fatter. The word fatter
here serves as a kind of indicator pointing that large describes a stout man and not a
big one.
Current research in semantics is largely based on the assumption that one of
the more promising methods of investigating the semantic structure of a word is by

77
studying the word's linear relationships with other words in typical contexts, i. e. its
combinability or collocability.
Scholars have established that the semantics of words characterised by common
occurrences (i. e. words which regularly appear in common contexts) are correlated
and, therefore, one of the words within such a pair can be studied through the other.
Thus, if one intends to investigate the semantic structure of an adjective, one would
best consider the adjective in its most typical syntactical patterns A + N –(adjective +
noun) and N + l + A (noun + link verb + adjective) and make a thorough study of the
meanings of nouns with which the adjective is frequently used.
For instance, a study of typical contexts of the adjective bright in the first
pattern will give us the following sets: a) bright colour (flower, dress, silk, etc.). b)
bright metal (gold, jewels, armour, etc.), c) bright student (pupil, boy, fellow, etc.), d)
bright face (smile, eyes, etc.) and some others. These sets will lead us to singling out
the meanings of the adjective related to each set of combinations: a) intensive in
colour, b) shining, c) capable, d) gay, etc.
For a transitive verb, on the other hand, the recommended pattern would be V
+ N (verb + direct object expressed by a noun). If, for instance, our object of
investigation are the verbs to produce, to create, to compose, the correct procedure
would be to consider the semantics of the nouns that are used in the pattern with each
of these verbs: what is it that is produced? created? composed?
There is an interesting hypothesis that the semantics of words regularly used in
common contexts (e. g. bright colours, to build a house, to create a work of art, etc.)
are so intimately correlated that each of them casts, as it were, a kind of permanent
reflection on the meaning of its neighbour. If the verb to compose is frequently used
with the object music, isn't it natural to expect that certain musical associations linger
in the meaning of the verb to compose?
Note, also, how closely the negative evaluative connotation of the adjective
notorious is linked with the negative connotation of the nouns with which it is
regularly associated: a notorious criminal, thief, gangster, gambler, gossip, liar,
miser, etc.
All this leads us to the conclusion that context is a good and reliable key to the
meaning of the word. Yet, even the jokes given above show how misleading this key
can prove in some cases. And here we are faced with two dangers. The first is that of
sheer misunderstanding, when the speaker means one thing and the listener takes the
word in its other meaning.The second danger has nothing to do with the process of
communication but with research work in the field of semantics. A common error
with the inexperienced research worker is to see a different meaning in every new set
of combinations. Here is a puzzling question to illustrate what we mean. Cf.: an
angry man, an angry letter. Is the adjective angry used in the same meaning in both
these contexts or in two different meanings? Some people will say "two" and argue
that, on the one hand, the combinability is different (man — name of person; letter —
name of object) and, on the other hand, a letter cannot experience anger. True, it
cannot; but it can very well convey the anger of the person who wrote it. As to the
combinability, the main point is that a word can realise the same meaning in different
sets of combinability. For instance, in the pairs merry children, merry laughter, merry
78
faces, merry songs the adjective merry conveys the same concept of high spirits
whether they are directly experienced by the children (in the first phrase) or indirectly
expressed through the merry faces, the laughter and the songs of the other word
groups.
The task of distinguishing between the different meanings of a word and the
different variations of combinability (or, in a traditional terminology, different usages
of the word) is actually a question of singling out the different denotations within the
semantic structure of the word.
1) a sad woman,
2) a sad voice,
3) a sad story,
4) a sad scoundrel (= an incorrigible scoundrel)
5) a sad night (= a dark, black night, arch, poet.)

Exercises
I. Give Russian equivalents to the following English words and word-groups.
Use the text.
To entitle, to provide stuff, literal sense, figurative meaning, to pretend, interlocutor,
angry retort, kick (thrill), preventative, to reveal, stout man, linear, collocability, to
intend to investigate, thorough study, bright fellow, transitive verb, to cast, to linger,
a notorious thief, notorious gambler, a notorious miser, reliable, sheer
misunderstanding, puzzling question, a sad scoundrel, a sad night, ultimate criterion,
distributional analysis, contextual analysis, investigative method.

II. Give English equivalents to the following Russian words and word-groups.
Use the text
Образное значение, развлекательный, собеседник, злой ответ, делать вид,
удовольствие, предупреждение, не удаваться, обнаруживать, современное
исследование, актуальное значение, метод исследования, линейный отношения,
сочетаемость, быть взаимосвязанным, намереваться, тщательное изучение,
относиться к чему-либо, модель, переходный глагол, сохраняться, оставаться,
оценочная коннотация, простое непонимание, не иметь никакого отношения к
… , трудный вопрос, сочетаемость, последний критерий, дистрибутивный
анализ, анализ дефиниций, компонентный анализ, метод исследования,
контекстуальный анализ, определить семантическую структуру слова, вне
контекста.

III. Put in the missing prepositions. Use the text

… the beginning of the paragraph, to be misled … the polysemy, to take smth. … the
literal sense, to base smth. … the polysemy, preventative … any misunderstanding, to
be correctly interpreted … the context, words‘ relationships … other words in the
contexts, set … combinations, to distinguish … two meanings, to cast a reflection on
the meaning, to be linked … the connotation, to lead … the conclusion, a key … the
meaning, to be faced … the danger, to have nothing to do … the process of
communication.
79
IV. Provide synonyms for the italicized words.
1. One of the most important drawback of polysemantic words is that there is a
misunderstanding when a word is used in a certain meaning but accepted by a listener
or reader in another. 2. One of the interlocutors based his reply on the polysemy. 3.
Combinability is the words‘ linear relationships with other words in typical contexts.
4. Scientists have established that the semantics of words characterized by common
occurrences are correlated. 5. If one intends to research the semantic structure of an
adjective, one would make a detailed study of the meanings of nouns with which the
adjective is frequently used. 6. Context is not the final criterion for meaning and it
should be used in combination with other criteria.

Practicum
I. Match word-groups with their Russian equivalents
1. a light book пасмурный день
2. a kick of joy темная ночь
3. a bright fellow известный скряга
4. a sad scoundrel несерьезная книга
5. a sad night радостное возбуждение
6. a notorious gambler известный негодяй
7. a notorious miser известный картежник
8. a dull play умный парень
9. a dull day скучная пьеса
II. Match meanings of the adjective ―dull‖ with the word groups in which it is
used
1. not clear, bright a) dull ears
2. stupid b) a dull knife
3. not sharp c) dull trade
4. seeing badly d) a dull film
5. not active e) dull eyes
6. not loud or distinct f) a dull sound
7. hearing badly g) a dull colour
8. boring h) a dull student

III. Try your hand at being a lexicographer. Write simple definitions to

illustrate as many meanings as possible for the following polysemantic words.
After you have done it, check your results using a dictionary.
Face, heart, nose, smart, to lose.

IV. Read the following jokes. Analyse the collocability of the italicized words
and state its relationship with the meaning.
1. Lady (at party): Where is that pretty maid who was passing our cocktails a while
ago?
Hostess: Oh, you are looking for a drink? Lady: No, I'm looking for my husband

80
 2. P e g g у: I want to help you, Dad. I shall get the dress-maker to teach me to cut
out gowns.
D a d: I don't want you to go that far, Peg, but you might cut out cigarettes, and
taxi bills.
3. There are cynics who claim that movies would be better if they shot less films
and more actors.
4. Кitty: Is your wound sore, Mr. Pup?
M r. P u p: Wound? What wound?
Kitty: Why, sister said she cut you at the dinner last night.

Lecture 12. Transference Based on Resemblance (Similarity).

Transference Based on Contiguity

Vocabulary

Transference – action of transferring

Outward – external
Resemblance – likeness, similarity
Particle – very small amount
Liquid – a substance resembling water
To widen – to make wider
To weaken – to make weak
To nickname – to call a person by a nickname
Derogatory – tending to damage
Unconscious – not conscious
Types of metaphors

Structural Orientational Ontological

Argument is war Happy is up – sad is down The mind is a brittle object
Your claims are I‘m feeling up The mind is a brittle object
indefensible
He attacked every weak That boosted my spirits. His mind snapped
point in my argument.
I‘ve never won an My spirits rose. He broke under cross
argument with him. examination.
You disagree? O‘k, shoot! You are in high spirits. She is easily crushed.
I‘m feeling down. The experience shattered
him.
He‘s really low these days I‘m going to pieces.
My spirits sank.

Exercises
I. Study lecture 12 and give Russian equivalents to the following English words
and word-groups.

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Metaphor, due to…, transference, resemblance, particle of liquid, diamond drops,
shift of meaning, outward similarity, figurative meaning, heavenly body, semi- god,
surrounded, rays of glory, weaken, to widen the range, to nickname, ginger, to sneak,
derogatory nickname, unconscious.

II. Study lecture 12 and give English equivalents to the following Russian words
and word-groups.
Внешнее сходство, частица жидкости, претерпевать сдвиг значения, образное
значение, небесное тело, расширить круг значений, быть окруженным лучами
славы, ослабевать, давать прозвище, пренебрежительное прозвище,
рыжеволосый, бессознательный, шпионить, доносить.

III. Study lecture 12 and put in the missing prepositions.

Due … the outward similarity, to be based … the association … two objects, …
addition to its main meaning, … general, to be associated … an abstract concept, to
be applied … smb., to be surrounded … the rays of glory, to be unconscious … the
fact.

IV. Fill in the gaps with the words below.

Abstract, person, transference, similarity, physical, idiomatic, barrier, developed,
heavenly body, concrete, metaphorical, behaviour, drop.
1. Metaphor is the … of name based on the association of similarity between two
referents. 2. These referents can be: two … objects, e. g. in the word group ―an eye of
a needle‖ the noun eye has the metaphorical meaning ―hole in the end of a needle‖. 3.
The main meaning of the noun … is ―a small particle of water or other liquid‖. 4. The
meanings of the noun drop ―ear-rings shaped as drops of water‖ in ―diamond drops‖
and ―candy of the same shape‖ in ―mint drops‖ are…. 5. Metaphorical change of
meaning is often observed in … compounds. 6. In transference based on resemblance
an association may be built not only between two physical objects, but also between a
…object and an …concept (e.g. a branch of linguistics, a social bar). 7. The noun
branch … the metaphorical meaning ―a special field of science or art‖ on the basis of
its main meaning ―subdivision of a tree or bush‖. 8. The noun bar from the original
meaning … developed a figurative meaning realized in such contexts as social bars,
racial bar etc. 9. The transference in a compound movie star is based on resemblance
between a physical object and a …. 10. The noun star on the basis of the meaning …
developed the meaning ― famous actor or actress‖. 11. Metaphors are based upon
various types of … . 12. The features of similarity may be a) shape (e.g. diamond
drops, the neck of a bottle); b) function and position (e.g. the heart of a city); c)age
(e.g. a green man) ; d) colour (e.g. carrot – ―a red-headed boy‖); e) … (e.g. a rat – ―a
spying and sneaking person).

V. Study lecture 12 and choose true statements.

1. Metaphor is the transference of name based on the association of similarity
between two referents. 2. Metaphorical meaning appears as a result of associating
two objects due to their outward similarity. 3. One of the meanings of the noun eye
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―hole in the end of a needle‖ is metaphorical 4. The meaning of the noun neck in a
word-group the neck of a bottle developed through transference based on similarity.
5. The meaning of the noun drop ―a small particle of water or other liquid‖ is
metaphorical. 6. Metaphorical change of meaning is often observed in non-idiomatic
compounds.7. The main meaning of the noun branch is a ―special field of science or
art‖. 8. Transference in a metaphor ―diamond drops‖ is based on the association
between a concrete object and an abstract notion. 9. Transference in a metaphor ―a
branch of linguistics‖ is based on similarity between two physical objects. 10. The
noun bar developed a metaphorical meaning, realized in such contexts as social bar
and racial bar, from the original meaning ―barrier‖. 11. The noun star on the basis of
the meaning ―heavenly body‖ developed the metaphorical meaning ―famous actor or
actress‖. 11. Metaphors are based upon various types of similarity: e.g. shape,
function, age, colour, position and behaviour. 12. In diamond drops, metaphor is
based on similarity of colour. 13. There is the similarity of shape in metaphor the
neck of a bottle. 14. In the heart of a city, the similarity to a human heart has a
complex character: it is that of function and position. 15. In rat (―a spying and
sneaking person‖) there is the similarity of function.

VI. Questions for discussion.

1. Is metaphor the transference of name based on the association of similarity
between two referents? 2. Does metaphorical meaning appear as a result of
associating two objects due to their outward similarity? 3. Is metaphorical change of
meaning often observed in non-idiomatic compounds? 4. What is the metaphorical
meaning of the noun eye? 5. What association is the transference in a metaphor
―diamond drops‖ based on? 6. Transference in a metaphor ―a branch of linguistics‖
is based on similarity between two physical objects, isn‘t it? 7. Did the noun bar
develop a metaphorical meaning from the original meaning ―barrier‖? 8. What
metaphorical meaning did a noun star develop on the basis of the meaning ―heavenly
body‖? 9. What types of similarity are metaphors based upon? 10. There is the
similarity of shape in metaphor the neck of a bottle, isn‘t there? 11. Does the
similarity to a human heart in the heart of a city have a complex character?

Practicum
I. Choose metaphors and identify the type of association on which the similarity
is based: a) association of two physical objects; b) association between a concrete
object an abstract concept; c) association between a person and an object
An eye of a needle, a star on the sky, a branch of a tree, an eye of a person, a neck of
a bottle, diamond drops, a green man, a fruitless tree, the root of a tree, mint drops,
branch of linguistics, branch of a tree, to go a green tree, a faded flower, to the bar,
seeds of a plant, a football star, social bar, seeds of evil, a faded beauty, a fruitless
effort.

II. Metaphors are based upon various types of similarity. Identify the feature or
features of similarity in each case:
a) shape; b)function; c)age; d) colour; e)position.
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the drop of milk - diamond drops
the heart of a man - the heart of a city
black shoes - black despair
the neck of a man - the neck of a bottle
green grass - a green man
the teeth of a boy - the teeth of a comb
the key to a door - the key to a mystery
the tail of an animal - the tail of a coat

III. Find the suitable description for each metaphor:

Set I
A PROBLEM IS A TARGET
A PROBLEM IS A BODY OF WATER
A PROBLEM IS A LOCKED CONTAINER FOR ITS SOLUTION
A PROBLEM IS A REGION IN A LANDSCAPE

He dived right into the problem.

He took aim at the problem.
Let's map out the problem before we do anything else.
He finally found the key to the problem.
The mayor targeted the problem of homelessness.
Set II
BELIEFS ARE BEINGS WITH A LIFE CYCLE
BELIEFS ARE GUIDES
BELIEFS ARE LOVE OBJECTS
BELIEFS ARE POSSESSIONS

He is wedded to a belief in his own infallibility.

That belief died out years ago.
We share many beliefs.
You are governed by your beliefs.
He acquired most of his beliefs during childhood.
He embraced that belief wholeheartedly.
His belief was born of the early philosophers.
Beliefs dictate actions.

IV. Discuss the cases of metonymy.

1. He is the hope of the family. 2. She was the pride of her school. 3. I have never
read Balzac in the original. 4. My sister is fond of old china. 5. The coffee-pot is
boiling. 6. The pit loudly applauded. 7. He succeeded to the crown. 8. The authorities
were greeted.

V. Comment on the etymology and meaning of the cases of metonymy.

Colt, Ford, sandwich, mackintosh, boycott, hooligan, gladstone bag, dunce, quisling,
silhouette, Apollo, ohm, magnetism, boston, cheviot, madeira, champagne, bordeaux.

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VI. The metonymical change may be conditioned by various connections, such
as spatial, temporal, causal, symbolic, instrumental, functional, etc. Establish the
model of transfer in each case:
a) Material – article made from it;
b) part —> whole;
c) instrument —> product;
d) symbol —► thing symbolized;
e) receptacle —► content;
f) place —> people occupying it.
1. an excellent horse – a detachment of horse
2. a new kettle - The kettle is boiling
3. nickel (a metal) – nickel (a coin)
4. a beautiful crown – She refused the crown
5. to lead him by the hand – He has a legible hand
6. a large industrial town – The whole town is furious about the council's education
policy

VII. Read and translate the examples of metonymical transfer of geographical

names.
1. Downing Street (No 10 – Downing Street is the Prime Minister's residence).
Downing Street (the British Prime Minister and Cabinet)
2.Lombard Street (the financial world of Great Britain). Lombard Street (a street -in
the City of London known for financial and banking activity)
3. White House (the official Washington, D.C. home). White House (the President
and his adviser of the President of the United States).
4. The Pentagon (the five-sided building near Washington that is the headquarters of
the US Department of Defense and the US armed forces). The Pentagon (the leaders
of the US armed forces).
5. A country club at Tuxedo Park, New York. Tuxedo (a dinner-jacket).
6. Balaclava (a village in the Crimea where a battle of the Crimean War was fought
in 1854). Balaclava (a closely fitting woolen hat that covers the head and neck, with
an opening for the face).
7. Nimes (a city in and the capital of Gard, in France). Denim (a kind of cloth; short
for serge de Nimes).
8. The Cheviot Hills (on the border between England and Scotland). Cheviot (a kind
of wool cloth).
9. Madeira (the largest of a group of islands – the Madeira Islands in the Atlantic
Ocean which belong to Portugal). Madeira (a white dessert wine from the island of
Madeira).
10. Bourbon County (Kentucky). Bourbon (a type of whisky).
11. Champagne (a region in France). Champagne (any of various types of sparkling
white wine).

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12. Sardinia (a large Italian island off the country's west coast). Sardine (a young
pilchard or a similar fish, usually tinned in oil or tomato juice). 13. Labrador (a
peninsula in Canada). Labrador (a breed of dog with a smooth black or golden coat).
14. Charleston (a seaport in South Carolina). Charleston (a fast dance, popular in the
1920s, in which the knees are turned inwards and the legs kicked sideways).
15. Limousin (a former province in central France). Limousine (a large luxurious
car).
16. Buncombe (a place in South Carolina, USA). Buncombe, bunkum
( insincere talk; nonsense).
17. Blarney stone (a stone in Blarney Castle near Cork, Ireland, held to make those
who kiss it skilled in flattery). Blarney (skillful flatter).

VIII. Analyse the dictionary definitions of these polysemantic words from the
thematic group "Animals" and say in each case whether the secondary meaning
is a) metaphorical or b) metonymical.
Set 1.
1. turkey (a large bird, rather like a large chicken, kept on farms for its meat which is
eaten, especially at Christmas and (in the US) at Thanksgiving) - turkey (the flesh of
this bird as food)
2. chicken (a common farmyard bird) - chicken (a person who lacks courage, a
coward)
3. ermine (a small animal of the weasel family whose fur is brown in summer and
white in winter) - ermine (the white winter fur of this animal, especially as used to
trim the robes of judges)
4. mouse (a small rodent with a long thin tail) - mouse (a small hand-held device that
is moved across a desktop, etc. to produce a corresponding movement of the cursor,
with a button for entering commands)
5. butterfly (an insect with a long thin body and four (usually brightly coloured)
wings) - butterfly (a way of swimming on one's front, moving the arms together over
one's head while kicking the feet up and down together)
6. shark (any of various types of sea-fish with a triangular fin on its back, some of
which are large and dangerous to bathers) - shark (a person who has unusual ability in
a particular field)
7. horse (a large strong four-legged animal with hard feet, which people ride on and
use for pulling heavy things) - horse (soldiers riding on horses, cavalry)
Set 2
8. turkey (a large bird, rather like a large chicken, kept on farms for its meat which is
eaten, especially at Christmas and (in the US) at Thanksgiving) - turkey (a useless
and silly person)
9. chicken (a common farmyard bird) - chicken (the meat of this bird eaten as food)
10. ermine (a small animal of the weasel family whose fur is brown in summer and
white in winter) - ermine (the rank, position, or status of a king, peer, or judge,
especially one in certain European countries who wears, or formerly wore, a robe
trimmed with ermine, as on official or state occasions)
11. mouse (a small rodent with a long thin tail) - mouse (a shy, timid person)
86
12. butterfly (an insect with a long thin body and four (usually brightly coloured)
wings) - butterfly (a person who never settles down to one job or activity for long)
13. shark (any of various types of sea-fish with a triangular fin on its back, some of
which are large and dangerous to bathers) - shark (a person who extorts money from
others or lends money at very high interest rates, a swindler)
14. horse (a large strong four-legged animal with hard feet, which people ride on
and use for pulling heavy things) - horse (an exercise apparatus for jumping over)

IX. The same word can develop both metaphorical and metonymical meanings.
Analyse these phrases with the words from the thematic group "Parts of the
Body" and in each case determine the type of meaning which the word realizes
in the second phrase: a) metaphorical, b) metonymical.
head
1. the head of a girl - the head of a cabbage
2. the head of a girl - to count heads
3. the head of a girl - the head of a household
eye
4. the eye of a man - the eye of a potato
5. the eye of a man - to have an eye for fashion
mouth
6. the mouth of a boy - the mouth of a cave
7. the mouth of a boy - another mouth to feed
tongue
8. the child's tongue - his native tongue (Spanish)
9. the child's tongue - the tongue of a bell
10.the child's tongue - No tongue must ever tell the secret
heart
11.the heart of a person - the heart of the matter
12.the heart of a person - brave hearts
hand
13.hands of a man - factory hands
14.the hand of a man - the hand of a clock
foot
15.the foot of a soldier - the foot of a mountain
16.the foot of a soldier - foot ("infantry")

X. How are the underlined words used in these contexts: a) metaphorically or

b) metonymically? Explain the reasons for your decisions.

1. "Scruffy", "ornery", and "mean" were the adjectives that danced in Judith's
brain (M. Daheim).
2. At first the room was too loud for anyone to hear and pay attention (C.
McCullers).
3. He was snowed under by too many responsibilities (Internet).

87
4. She was thrilled to work for the brilliant and handsome doctor and to
accompany him on a business trip to Norway (B. Neels).
5. The farm hands don't work on Saturday afternoon anyway, so it was a good
day for the funeral (N. Gordimer).
6. She turned to her typewriter and her fingers began to fly (R. Chandler).
7. Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing all view the nuclear standoff not as a crisis but rather
as a negotiation (Newsweek).
8. When she snatched up the receiver and barked "Yes, who is it?" the caller's
response was to chuckle softly (L. Turner).
9. I slowed down at every fork and crossroad and every house we passed... (I.
Shaw).
10.Even if the concept of separate but equal were considered possible and
everyone wanted it, the inevitable off springs of white Romeos and black
Juliets (and vice versa) would lead to endless and hopeless controversies and
third, fourth, and fifth color categories (T.J. Cooney).
11.Oh, wait. Don't tell me. ...I hope the insurance company doesn't think I'm going
to give the money back" - she said (S. Grafton).
12.The townspeople tried to flee from the rain of death pouring down from the
skies, but there was no escape (S. Sheldon).
13.Extract as much information from as many sources as possible (Notes on
Attendance for Interview leaflet).
14.I wonder if you'd be kind enough to bring us three large whiskies and keep
repeating the order whenever you see our glasses are empty (J. Herriot).
15.But he didn't push the idea... (Newsweek).
16.Fast boys in stripped-down Fords shot in and out of the traffic streams, missing
fenders by a sixteenth of an inch, but somehow always missing them (R.
Chandler).
17.She suspected he was swallowing his pride (L. Turner).
18.I don't work with a company; I work at a gulag where you lose all your rights
the moment you step through the door (Internet).
19.Most mornings he would have gone for a stroll round London's Square Mile,
his own particular beat - the one he'd walked for years before being planted on
the desk... (J.J. Marric).
20.Or maybe the wind didn't stop; it was just that all her senses froze in that
second. She couldn't see, hear or feel (P. Davis).
21.Because these values are in flux, schools seem uncertain of what stand to take
and the vacuum invites contradictory cries of censorship from left, right, and
middle (Parents).
22.The telephone becomes a lifeline. People with a stomach full of sleeping pills
and doubts tiptoeing in reach for it before they die (P. Davis).
23...for now things are about to happen, and the great city will close over them
again as over a scrap of ticker tape floating down from the den of a Broad
Street bear (O. Henry).
24....and laugh deep fruity laughs... (J.R.R. Tolkien).
25.Sure enough, the gossip columnist's voice dropped once more (M. Daheim).
88
 26.....Washington wants to retain the U.N. arms embargo indefinitely
(Newsweek).
27.Fuel up with a good breakfast (Internet).
28.Henri sensed that in this way his mentor was preparing him for his debut in the
student world (P. La Mure).
29.You see, I tracked down a couple of pictures but he didn't like them. He said
they weren't "pretty" enough. I remember one was a gorgeous Van Gogh. But
then I found this marvelous Monet, in Venice, of all places, and he told me to
send it to the Waldorf-Astoria (L. Fosburgh).
30.Inspector Ghote interrupted him before his wrath fully exploded (H.R.F.
Keating).

XI. Is the marked word a) metaphor or b) metonymy?

1. John Montagu, 4th Earl-of Sandwich (1718-1792), an inveterate gambler who ate
slices of cold meat between bread at the gaming table during marathon sessions).
Sandwich (two or more slices of bread with meat, cheese, etc. between).
2. Don Juan (a legendary Spanish nobleman who had love affairs with many women).
Don Juan (a man who has great success with women).
3. Cinderella (a fairy tale character who is badly treated by her family but with the
help of her fairy godmother marries a prince). Cinderella (a girl or woman whose
beauty or abilities have not been recognized, or who becomes rich and successful
after a period of difficulty).
4. Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913), a German mechanical engineer. Diesel (a type of
compression ignition engine).
5. Rockefeller (1839-1937), an American industrialist. He made a vast fortune from
his company Standard Oil. Rockefeller (a very rich person).
6. James Thomas Brudnell, -7th Earl of Cardigan (1797-1868), a British cavalryman
of the Crimean War fame. Cardigan (a knitted jacket fastened with buttons, first worn
during the Crimean War as protection against the cold winters).
7. Job (a sufferer who keeps his faith). Job – in the Old Testament a virtuous man
who kept his faith in God in spite of many misfortunes.
8. Falstaff (a hero of Shakespeare's plays). Falstaff (a corpulent, jovial, irrepressibly
impudent person).
9. 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), a British soldier and statesman, known as the
Iron Duke. He defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, bringing the Napoleonic
Wars to an end. Wellingtons (boots extending to the top of the knee in front but cut
low in back).
10. Adonis in Greek mythology – a handsome young man who was loved by
Aphrodite. Adonis (a very handsome young man).
11. Jekyll and Hyde – the protagonist of Robert Louis Stevenson's ―The Strange Case
of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde‖ (1886). Jekyll and Hyde (a person marked by dual
personality, one aspect of which is good and the other is bad).
12. Jean Baptiste – a French linen weaver. Batiste (a sheer cotton or silk material
used for handkerchiefs, lingerie, children's wear, ladies' summer dresses).
13. Andre Marie Ampere (1775-1836), a great French mathematician and physicist).
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Ampere (the unit of electrical current).

XII. Read the stories about the transition of proper names into common ones
accompanied by semantic changes. In each case identify the nature of semantic
change: a) metaphor, b) metonymy.

Etienne de Silhouette -> silhouette

1. Etienne de Silhouette was the French controller general of finances in the mid-18th
century. He was extremely close with the state's money as well as his own, so close,
in fact, that a la Silhouette came to mean "cheaply" for a time. His niggardliness was
greeted with ridicule. It was even suggested that one of his economies was the
decoration of his house with his outlines, which he made himself, rather than with
more expensive paintings. Outline drawings, as stingy of detail as Silhouette was of
money, were given his name.
Louis Braille -> Braille / braille
2. The system of reading and writing for the blind Braille was invented by Louis
Braille. In 1812 a little French boy, Louis Braille, was blinded. He learned his
alphabet at a school for the blind by feeling twigs that were fashioned in the shape of
the letters. The lad was hungry for knowledge and impatient with this awkward
technique. When he was older he heard of a French Army captain who devised a
system of raised dots and dashes by which his orders could be read by the fingers in
the dark. It occurred to Louis that the principle was good for the blind. So Louis
Braille developed a system of reading and writing for the blind in which letters are
printed as groups of raised dots that they can feel with their fingers.
Samuel Pickwick -> Pickwick
3. Samuel Pickwick was created by Charles Dickens. Mr. Pickwick debuted in a
series of Dickens' stories that were first published in 1836 and 1837. He was the kind,
but somewhat easily fooled, chairman of a
club he started and named after himself – the Pickwick Club. The stories tell about
the adventures of Pickwick and other club members. The tales made Charles Dickens
a literary sensation, and Mr. Pickwick became so popular that people began using his
name as a general term for someone who is pleasant but naive.
Joseph I. Guillotine -> guillotine
4. Joseph I. Guillotine was a French doctor. He never invented that horrible device
used to execute people, especially in France in the past. The device worked like this:
a sharp blade was raised up on a frame and dropped onto the person's neck. Neither is
there any truth in the legend that he was one of the first to die beneath its falling
blade. But one cannot say he had nothing to do with it. Dr. Guillotine supported
capital punishment and suggested the use of the machine instead of hanging. He
insisted that it was a more "humanitarian" way of putting criminals to death. The
machine was first used in Paris in 1792: a notorious highwayman was the first
sentenced to be guillotined. Dr. Guillotine died quietly in his bed twenty-two
yearslater. It is also interesting to note that now the word
guillotine is used to name a device used for cutting and trimming papers.
John Duns Scotus -> dunce
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5. This word meaning "a stupid person" is an eponym for John Duns Scotus (1265-
1308), a leading scholar of philosophy and theology. Scotus was born in Duns,
Scotland, and his writings formed the philosophical core for a Scholastic sect named
after him, the Scotists. In the 16th century, humanists and reformers began attacking
the Scotists for splitting hairs and engaging in useless philosophical discussions. In
retaliation, the Scotists railed against the new learning of the Renaissance. As a
result, Duns (Duns -> dunce) became associated with those who refused to learn.
Levi Strauss -> Levis
6. The word Levis stands for close-fitting, heavy blue denim pants that are
reinforced at strain points with copper rivets. It comes from Levi Strauss of San Fran-
cisco, the pioneer overall manufacturer of the West, who began his business in the
Gold Rush days. The company trademark Levis became a popular term for almost
any durable work pants, especially blue jeans.

XIII. Explain the logical associations in the following groups of meaning for the
same words. Define the type of transference which has taken place.
1. The wing of a bird — the wing of a building; the eye of a man — the eye of a
needle; the hand of a child — the hand of a clock; the heart of a man — the heart of
the matter; the bridge across-the-river — the bridge of the nose; the tongue of a
person — the tongue of a bell; the tooth of a boy — the tooth of a comb; the coat of a
girl — the coat of a dog.
2. Green grass — green years; black shoes — black despair; nickel (metal) — a
nickel (coin); glass — a glass; copper (metal) — a copper (coin); Ford (proper name)
— a Ford (car); Damascus (town in Syria) — damask; Kashmir (town in North India)
— cashmere.

XIV. Analyse the process of development of new meanings in the italicized

words in the examples given below.
1.1 put the letter well into the mouth of the box and let it go and it fell turning over
and over like an autumn leaf. 2. Those who had been the head of the line paused
momentarily on entry and looked around curiously. 3. A cheerful-looking girl in blue
jeans came up to the stairs whistling. 4. Seated behind a desk, he wore a light
patterned suit, switch from his usual tweeds. 5. Oh, Steven, I read a Dickens the other
day. It was awfully funny. 6. They sat on the rug before the fireplace, savouring its
warmth, watching the rising tongues of flame. 7. He inspired universal confidence
and had an iron nerve. 8. A very small boy in a green jersey with light red hair cut
square across his forehead was peering at Steven between the electric fire and the
side of the fireplace. 9. While the others were settling down, Lucy saw Pearson take
another bite from his sandwich. 10. As I walked nonchalantly past Hugo's house on
the other side they were already carrying out the Renoirs.

XV. Find cases of metaphor in the passages below. Say what the metaphor
draws on. If the metaphor is cognitive, specify its type.
1.I went to see the village again, about a year afterwards. There was nothing there.
Mounds of red mud, where the huts had been, had long swathes of rotting thatch over
91
them, veined with the red galleries of the white ants. The pumpkin vines rioted
everywhere…: it was a festival of pumpkins. The bushes were crowding up, the new
grass sprang vivid green (D. Lessing, ―The Old Chief Mshlanga‖, 1956, P. 14).
2.The warmth of that fire spread through Gwen, enveloping her in a sweet golden
aura that seemed in her mind to outshine the pale, cold light of the moon. Laying her
head down on her arms, she began to cry again, but these tears sprang from a
different well, one deeper and purer than she had ever imagined existed. They were
tears of joy, for she knew that she had loved Joram unselfishly (M. Weis, T.
Hickman, ―The Dark Sword Trilogy‖, Vol. II, P. 228).
3.As chief librarian in charge of records for over thirty years, he considered the entire
history of British international affairs his private domain. He made a speciality of
ferreting out policy blunders and scandalous intrigues…that had been swept under the
carpet of secrecy (C. Cussler, ―Night Probe‖, 2003, P. 59).
4.The third day broke, bleak and windy. At sunrise the Ents‘ voices rose to a great
clamour and then died down again. As the morning wore on, the wind fell and the air
grew heavy with expectancy… The afternoon came, and then, going west towards the
mountains, sent out long yellow beams between the cracks and fissures of the clouds.
Suddenly they were aware that everything was quiet; the whole forest stood in
listening silence (J. R.R. Tolkien, ―The Lord of the Rings‖, Part two, ―The Two
Towers‖, 1994, P. 99).
5.The Butters were a family of large, inbred, indeterminately numerous individuals
who lived seasonally in a collection of shanty homes in an area of perpetual wooded
gloom known as the Bottoms along the swampy margins of the Raccoon River (B.
Bryson, ―The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid‖, 2007, P. 73).
6.Some people argue that because God is a caring deity ill health and suffering must
also have an origin in divine care. From this proceeds the widespread understanding
that disease and physical suffering are the means by which God purifies the soul (I.
Mortimer, ―The Time Traveller‘s Guide to Medieval England‖, 2007, P. 190).
7.The glass of the kitchen window-panes rattled in their frames and then the rumble
of the guns rolled down from the north. Once again the German guns were hunting
along the ridges, clamouring and barking like wild dogs (Wilbur Smith ―The Burning
Shore‖, 1997, P. 48).
8.Centaine shivered. Death – that word again. Death was all around them. On the
ridges over there where for the moment the sound of the guns was just a low rumble,
death in the sky above them (Wilbur Smith ―The Burning Shore‖, 1997, P. 68).
9.Everything I‘ve written so far about Los Angeles is true, as far as I know. But
everything I‘ve written so far is also profoundly inaccurate. If you think of LA as a
room, it would be fair to say that I‘ve been deliberately neglecting an elephant sitting
by itself in the corner. Lots of Angelenos choose to do the same – they behave as if
the elephant weren‘t there, or they pretend it‘s no bigger than a mouse. But soon I
think they won‘t have a choice. The elephant is not aggressive. It just keeps on
growing‖ [Mark Abley, The Prodigal Tongue, 2009:129].
10. He leaned back. Somewhere in the house there was the sound of rushing water.
The radiator rattled and the rain knocked with soft fingers at the window [Remarque,
1971:69].
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11.I am sitting here with a woman between pale chrysanthemums and a bottle of
calvados, and the shadow of love rises, trembling, lonesome, strange and sad, it too
an exile from the safe gardens of the past, shy and wild and quick as if it had no right
– [Remarque, 1971:146].
12.She calls that joy! To be driven by multiple dark propellers, in a gust of breathless
desire for repossession – joy? Outside there is a moment of joy, the dew at the
window, the ten minutes of silence before the day stretches out its claws [Remarque,
1971:248].

XVI. Differentiate between cases of metaphor and metonymy.

The jacket of the book; the roof of the tongue; the cover of the night; a wedge of a
melon; a lump of sugar; a lockjaw; a train of thought; a flight of fantasy; a hint of
brandy; a spoiler; fishfingers; the brow of the hill; the crest of the wave; the cheek to
ask for smth.; to hate smb.‘s guts; the eye of the storm; the heel of the sock.

XVII. Comment of the following statement by Karl Sornig and specify the
functions that a metaphor serves:
…the capability to use and create metaphoric language can be regarded as a most
delicate indicator of communicative competence for a certain language. The
capability and propensity for that kind of handling language creatively might very
well be considered a universal of language use. Metaphoric replacement of words for
each other is a deliberate process which is brought about by the deletion of certain
semantic features while other features from the feature-potential are selected and
foregrounded, viz. those that would bring certain peculiarities of a certain denotation
(whose ―real‖ name has been suppressed and substituted) to the attention of the
interlocutor. Focusing on a certain semantic aspect serves at the same time as an
evaluative assessment of the concept denoted and an invitation to the recipient to
comply with this assessment. Thus, metaphorization serves the
evaluative/connotative processing of expressive means from the speaker‘s evaluation
of situational reality, and it tries to influence the recipient‘s interpretation of that
same situation [Sornig, 1981:36].

Self-Assessment Test

a) Metaphor or b) metonymy?
Variant1.
1. oyster (a large, flat shellfish) – oyster (a reserved, taciturn person)
2. Biro Laszlo (the Hungarian inventor) – biro (a ball-point pen)
3. yawn (a deep usually involuntary intake of breath through the wide open
mouth) – yawn (a tiresome person, a bore)
4. Tweed (a river in Scotland) – tweed (a kind of cloth)
5. heap (things thrown on one another, a pile) – heap (a slovenly woman)
6. Watt James (the 18th century Scottish inventor) – watt (a unit of power)
7. Mentor (friend to Odysseus) – mentor (a loyal and wise adviser)

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 8. seeds (of a plant) – seeds (of evil)
9. gold (a metal) – gold (a medal)
10.neck (of a girl) – neck (of a bottle)
11.pride (a feeling) – pride (the most valuable person or thing)
12.sour (milk) – sour (smile)
13.Nimes, France – denim (a kind of cloth)
14.pencil (a wooden instrument used for writing or drawing) – the Pen (the
monument to George Washington resembling a pencil)
15.J. Barbour and Sons of South Shields (producers of clothes) – barbour (
weatherproof jacket or coat)

Variant 2.
1. Sweden – suede (a kind of cloth)
2. eye (of a man) – eye (of a needle)
3. giggle (laugh in a silly manner) – giggle (an amusing person)
4. Jersey (one of the Channel Islands, well-known for its knitting) – jersey (a
sweater or jumper)
5. bulb (a round root of certain plants) – bulb (the glass part of an electric lamp)
6. Hooligan (the Irish family name) hooligan (a rough, lawless youth)
7. sable (a small animal of northern Europe and Asia) – sable (its fur)
8. shark (a large sea fish) – shark (a person clever at getting money from others in
dishonest ways)
9. Gaza – gauze (a kind of cloth)
10.Braille Louis (the French inventor) – braille (a raised writing system used by
blind people)
11.fruitless (tree) – fruitless (effort)
12.hope (an expectation) – hope (a person or thing that seems likely to bring
success)
13.coconut (the very large brown hard-shelled nut-like fruit of a tall tropical tree,
with white flesh) – coconut (a black person who adopts white cultural
characteristics)
14.feeler (a movable organ of an animal that usually functions for touch) -
feeler (a question or remark, made to find out the views of other people)
15.St Audrey (at whose annual fair in the town of Ely, near Cambridge, cheap
gaudy scarves were sold) – tawdry (cheap and tasteless)

Lecture 13. Broadening (or Generalisation) of Meaning.

Narrowing (or Specialisation) of Meaning

Narrowing of Meaning

lord
"the master of the house, the head of the family" > "a man of noble rank"

94
queen
"a woman" > "the wife or widow of a king; a woman who is a monarch"
wife
"a woman" > "the woman to whom a man is married"
fowl
"any bird" > "a domestic hen or cock"
room
"space" > "part of a building enclosed by walls and with a floor and ceiling"
stool
"a chair" > "a chair without a back"
sell
"to give" > "to deliver for money"
affection
"an emotion, a disposition or state of mind or body" > "gentle lasting love, fondness"
disease
"any inconvenience" > "an illness"

Broadening of Meaning
woman
"a wife" > "a fully grown human female"
fellow
"a partner or shareholder of any kind" > "a man or boy"
ready
"prepared for a ride" > "prepared for anything"
rich
"powerful" > "wealthy"
tell
"to count" > "to make something known in words; to express in words"
regret
"lament over the dead" > "a feeling of sorrow or unhappiness, often mixed with
disappointment (at the loss of something, at a sad event, etc.)"
occasion
"an accident or a grave event" > "a time when something happens"

Elevation of Meaning
pretty
"tricky, sly, wily" > "pleasing to look at, charming and attractive"

Degeneration of Meaning
demon
"an angel" > "an evil spirit"
knave
"a boy, a male servant" > "a swindler, scoundrel, rogue, a tricky deceitful person"
churl
"a freeborn peasant, freeholder" > "a rude, boorish person"
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notorious
"famous" > "famous for something bad"
Practicum
I. Read the words' stories and identify the results of their semantic development.
The results are: a)broadening ;b)narrowing; c)elevation; d) degeneration.
1. The noun picture used to refer only to a representation made with paint. Today it
can be a photograph or a representation made with charcoal, pencil or any other
means.
2. The adjective nice – from the Latin nescius for "ignorant" – at various times before
the current definition became established meant "foolish", then "foolishly precise",
then "pedantically precise", then "precise in a good way" and then its current
definition.
3. Worm was a term for any crawling creature, including snakes.
4. From 1550 to 1675 silly was very extensively used in the sense "deserving pity and
compassion, helpless". It is a derivative of the Middle English seely, from the
German selig, meaning "happy, blissful, blessed, holy" as well as "punctual,
observant of season".
5. Radiator was used for anything that radiated heat or light before it was applied
specifically to steam heat or a vehicle and an aircraft.
6. Revolutionary, once associated in the capitalist mind with an undesirable
overthrowing of the status quo, is now widely used by advertisers as a signal of
desirable novelty.
7. The word saloon originally referred to any large hall in a public place. The sense
"a public bar" developed by1841.
8. Lewd started out denoting those who were lay people as opposed to clergy. Since
the clergy were educated and the lay people, by and by, were not, it then came to
denote those who were ignorant, and from there -to obscene, clearly with worse
connotations.
9. The verb kidnap has come into wide use in the meaning "to take a child away
illegally and usually by force, in order to demand especially money for their safe
return". Now it implies any person, not only a child.
10. Crafty, now a disparaging term, originally was a word of praise.
11. Target originally meant "a small round shield" but now it means "anything that is
fired at" and figuratively "any result aimed at".
12.The word lean no longer brings to mind emaciation but athleticism and good
looks.
13.Voyage in earlier English meant "a journey", as does the French voyage, but is
now restricted mostly to journeys by sea.
14.The word hussy means today "an ill-behaved woman, a jade, a flirt". Yet in
Middle English, it denoted a perfectly reputable woman (a housewife).
15. Butcher dates from the 13th century as a term denoting the person who prepared
and cut up any kind of meat. Previously it referred to a specialist in goat's meat, often
salted because it was tough – this fact indicates how low the consumption of beef had
been in the Middle Ages.

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16.The adjective shrewd formerly meant "malicious, wicked; cunning, deceitful".
Then it came to mean "sharp-witted; having practical common sense".

II. Read the longer and more detailed stories of the words' semantic
development and say to what main result it led in each case.
a) narrowing; broadening;
b) broadening; narrowing;
c) broadening + degeneration;
d) narrowing + degeneration;
e) broadening + elevation;
f) narrowing + elevation;
g) narrowing +elevation; broadening;
h) narrowing; broadening +degeneration;
i) broadening + elevation and broadening + degeneration

1. The word flunky has come into Standard English from Scots, in which the word
meant "a liveried man servant, a footman", coming at least by the 19 th century to be a
term of contempt. The word is first recorded and defined in a work about Scots
published in 1782. The definition states that flunky is "literally a sides man or
attendant at your flank", which gives support to the suggestion that FLUNKY is a
derivative and alteration of flanker "one who stands at a person's flank". The current
meanings of flunky are labelled as derog. ("a person of slavish or unquestioning
obedience", "one who does menial or trivial work", "a male servant in ceremonial
dress").
2. In Old English the word lady denoted the mistress of the house, i.e. any married
woman. Later, a new meaning developed - "the wife or daughter of a baronet"
(aristocratic title). In Modern English the word lady can be applied to any woman.
3. First recorded in English in 1784 with the sense "a lover, an admirer", amateur is
found in 1786 with a meaning more familiar to us - "a person who engages in an art,
for example, as a pastime rather than as a profession" - a sense that had already
developed in French. Given the limitations of doing something as an amateur, it is not
surprising that the word is soon after recorded in the disparaging sense used to refer
to someone who lacks professional skill or ease in performance.
4. The word ketchup exemplifies the types of modifications that can take place in
borrowing - both of words and substances. The source of the word ketchup may be
the Malay word kechap, possibly taken into Malay from the Cantonese dialect of
Chinese. Kechap, like ketchup, was a sauce, but one without tomatoes; rather, it
contained fish brine, herbs, and spices. Sailors seem to have brought the sauce to
Europe, where it was made with locally available ingredients such as the juice of
mushrooms or walnuts. But it is important to realize that in the 18th and 19th centuries
ketchup was a generic term for sauces whose only common ingredient was vinegar.
5. "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," said Ralph Waldo
Emerson, who also said, "Everywhere the history of religion betrays a tendency to
enthusiasm." These two uses of the word enthusiasm – one positive and one negative
– both derive from its source in Greek. Enthusiasm first appeared in English in 1603
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with the meaning "possession by a god". The source of the word is the Greek
enthousiasmos, which ultimately comes from the adjective entheos "having the god
within", formed from en "in, within" and theos "god". Over time the meaning of
enthusiasm became expanded to "rapturous inspiration like that caused by a god" to
"an overly confident or delusory belief that one is inspired by God", to "ill-regulated
religious extremism" and eventually to the familiar sense "craze, excitement, strong
liking for something". Now one can have an enthusiasm for almost anything, from
water skiing to fast food, without religion entering into it at all. The current negative
meaning of this word is "any of various forms of extreme religious devotion, usually
associated with intense emotionalism and a break with orthodoxy".

III. In the examples given below identify the cases of widening and narrowing of
meaning.
1. While the others waited the elderly executive filled his pipe and lit it. 2. Finn was
watching the birds. 3. The two girls took hold of one another, one acting gentleman,
the other lady; three or four more pairs of girls immediately joined them and began a
waltz. 4. He was informed that the president had not arrived at the bank, but was on
his way. 5. Smokey had followed a dictum all his life: If you want a woman to stick
beside you, pick an ugly one. Ugly ones stay to slice the meat and stir the gravy.

IV. Have the italicized words evaluative connotations in their meanings?

Motivate your answer and comment on the history of the words.
1. The directors now assembling were admirals and field marshals of commerce. 2.
For a businessman to be invited to serve on a top-flight bank board is roughly
equivalent to being knighted by the British Queen. 3.I had a nice newsy gossip with
Mrs. Needham before you turned up last night. 4. The little half-starved guy looked
more a victim than a villain. 5. Meanwhile I nodded my head vigorously and directed
a happy smile in the direction of the two ladies. 6.I shook hands with Tom; it seemed
silly not to, for I felt suddenly as though I were talking to a child.

V. Read the following. Find examples of "degeneration" and "elevation" of

meaning. Comment on the history of the words.
1. King Arthur invented Conferences because he was secretly a Weak King and liked
to know what his memorable thousand and one knights wanted to do next. As they
were all jealous knights he had to have the memorable Round Table made to have the
Conferences at, so that it was impossible to say which was top knight.
(From 1066 and All That by C. W. Sellar, R. J. Yeatman)
2.Alf: Where are you going, Ted?
Ted: Fishing at the old mill. A If: But what about school?
Ted: Don't be' silly. There aren't any fish there!

VI. Read the following extract and criticize the author's treatment of the
examples. Provide your own explanations.
Words degenerate in meaning also. In the past villain meant "farm labourer";
counterfeiter meant "imitator" without criminal connotations, and sly meant "skilful".
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A knave meant a "boy" and immoral meant "not customary", and hussy was a
"housewife".
Other words improve in meanings. Governor meant "pilot" and constable
meant "stable attendant". Other elevations are enthusiasm which formally meant "fa-
naticism", knight which used to mean "youth", angel which simply meant
"messenger" and pretty which meant "sly". No one can predict the direction of
change of meaning, but changes occur constantly.
(From Teaching English Linguistically by J. Malmstrom, J. Lee)

VII. Read the following extracts and explain the semantic processes by which
the italicized words acquired their meanings
1. 'Bureau', a desk, was borrowed from French in the 17th c. In Modern French
(and English) it means not only the desk but also the office itself and the authority
exercised by the office. Hence the familiar bureaucracy is likely to become
increasingly familiar. The desk was called so because covered with bureau, a thick
coarse cloth of a brown russet.
(From The Romance of Words by E. Weekley)
2.An Earl of Spencer made a short overcoat fashionable for some time. An Earl of
Sandwich invented a form of light refreshment which enabled him to take a
meal without leaving the card-table. Hence we have such words as spencer and
sandwich in English.
(From The Romance of Words by E. Weekley)
3. A common name for overalls or trousers is jeans. In the singular jean is also a
term for a durable twilled cotton and is short for the phrase jean fustian which
first appeared in texts from the sixteenth century. Fustian (a Latin borrowing) is a
cotton or cotton and linen fabric, and jean is the modern spelling of Middle
English Jene or Gene, from Genes, the Middle French name of the Italian city Genoa,
where it was made and shipped abroad.
(From The Merriam-Webster Book of Word Histories)
4. Formally barn meant "a storehouse for barley"; today it has widened to mean
"any kind of storehouse" for animals or equipment as well as any kind of grain.
The word picture used to refer only to a representation made with paint; today it can
be a photograph or a representation made with charcoal, pencil or any other
means. A pen used to mean "feather" but now has be-come generalized to include
several kinds of writing implements — fountain, ballpoint, etc. The meaning
of sail as limited to moving on water in a ship with sails has now generalized to mean
"moving on water in any ship".
(From Teaching English Linguistically by J. Malmstrom, J. Le)

VIII. As technology develops, some words may acquire a narrower or reduced

meaning, the process and its result known as ―specialization‖. Thus, the advent
of the computer and its evolution introduced into the language a number of
specialized meanings for older words, traditionally used in a more general sense.
Study the table of computer and Internet terms below, specify the type of
transference and say what specialization resulted in.
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Computer and Internet Terms Meaning and Description
blend 1. A drawing program command that
computes the intermediate shapes
between two selected objects. The blend
command is used to make the smooth
highlights on a rendering of a three-
dimensional object. In many ways, the
blend command is like morphing special
effects seen on television commercials.
With its help, one could make the letter
C, for example, turn into a cat. 2. A
photopaint program filter that smooths
colours and removes texture over a
selected area. 3. A piece of digital art in
which several images have been
combined seamlessly into a visually
interesting whole
Boot To start up a computer. The term ―boot‖
(earlier ―bootstraps) derives from the idea
that the computer has to ―to pull itself up
by the bootstraps‖, that is, load into
memory a small program that enables it
to load larger programs.
Bottleneck The part of a computer system that slows
down its performance, such as a slow
disk drive, slow modem, or overloaded
network. Finding and remedying
bottlenecks is much more worthwhile
than simply speeding up parts of the
computer that are already fast.
Cinnamon bun The symbol @
Client A computer that receives services from
another computer. For example, when
you browse the World Wide Web, your
computer is a client of the computer that
hosts the web page. 2. An operating
system component that enables a
computer to access a particular types of
service
Ear A small box of information on either side
of a headline. In newspapers, an ear is
commonly used for the weather forecasts.
Efficiency The conservation of scarce resources. In

100
 order to measure efficiency, you have to
decide which resources you want to
conserve. For example, one program may
be more efficient than another if it uses
less memory, and another program may
be more efficient in terms of speed; the
question is whether you would rather
conserve memory or time
Justification The insertion of extra space between
words in lines of type so that the left and
the right margins are even and smooth.
Most word processors and desktop
publishing programs can automatically
do the computations necessary to justify
type. Problems arise only when the
column width is too narrow or too large.
Then you will get rivers of white space
running down the column
Node 1. An individual computer in a network 2.
A point on a curve or line that helps
define the shape of the line
Permission An attribute of a file that indicates who is
allowed to read or modify it
River A series of white spaces between words
that appear to flow from line to line in a
printed document. Rivers result from
trying to justify type when the columns
are too narrow or the available soft-ware
or printer is not versatile enough.
Slave The dependent unit in a pair of linked
machines.

IX. A number of neologisms selected by the year of their appearance are given
below. Comment on their meaning and word-building pattern

Neologism and Its Year Word-building peculiarities

Meaning
bushlips: insincere 1990
political rhetoric
interview without coffee:
a formal disciplinary
meeting or of- ficial
reprimand; a dressing-
down.

101
mother of all: greatest 1991
area boy: a hoodlum or 1992
street thug
lilywhite: a person without
a police record; someone
who does not trigger
suspicions
McJob: An unstimulating 1993
low-paying job
Babymoon: a planned
period of calm spent
together by a justborn baby
and its parents;
occasionally, time spent by
parents without their baby.
Chalk: the personnel and
equipment that make up
the load of an aircraft.
dress down day: a 1994
workday when employees
are allowed to dress
casually
love-cum-arranged
marriage: matrimony
between a mutually
acceptable and consenting
couple that has been
facilitated by the couple‘s
parents
go postal: to act 1995
irrationally and violently
as a result of work-stress
Jesus year: a person‘s
33rd year of life
prebuttal: preemptive 1996
rebuttal
chocolate foot: the foot
favored to use or to start
with when running, biking,
or kicking; one‘s dominant
foot.
millennium bug: the bug 1997
predicted to affect all
computers at the start of
the millennium
102
foot fault: in
jurisprudence, a minor
criminal or procedural
violation; a legal misstep
senior moment: a 1998
momentary lapse of
memory due to old age
babalog: a young,
Westernized social group
or individual concerned
with wealth, pop culture
fads, appearance, material
goods, or other
superficialities.
eat up the camera: in
movies, to be appealing or
engaging on screen
horse blanket: a large,
complex, or
comprehensive report or
chart.
cybersquat: to register a 1999
Web address with the
intention to sell it at a
profit
chad: a scrap of paper torn 2000
off a ballot that invalidates
it and upsets a presidential
election
dub-dub: a restaurant
server or waiter.
second-hand speech: 2001
overheard cell-phone
conversation in public
places
Asiental: An Asian of
unknown or unspecific
nationality.
vlog: a blog that contains 2002
video material.
feather lift: a delicate
method of cosmetic
surgery involving
implanted cords that lift
and pull
103
gurgitator: a person who
participates in eating
competitions
flexitarian: a vegetarian 2003
who occasionally eats
meat
red state: a state who 2004
residents favour
conservative Republicans
in the political map of the
United States
phish: to induce someone
to reveal private
information by means of
deceptive email
wardrobe malfunction:
an unanticipated exposure
of bodily parts
muffin top: the bulge of 2005
flesh hanging over the top
of low-rider jeans
staycation: a vacation
spent at home or nearby
empty spam: a spam 2006
message that contains
passages from classic
literature, but no
discernible advertisement,
phishing attempt, or
malicious code.
sub-zero: a dress size
smaller than size 0
smexting: sending text 2007
messages while standing
outside on a smoking
break.
ninja loan:
a loan or mortgage given
to a person who has no
income, no job, and no
assets.
multi-dadding: having
multiple children with
multiple men.
quake lake: a lake formed 2008
104
when an earthquake causes
landslides that block a
large river
Obamacon: a conservative
voter who supports
Democratic candidate
Barack Obama in the 2008
U.S. presidential election
recessionista: a person
who dresses stylishly on a
tight budget
DDo$ a scheme where a 2009
fine or fee is paid using a
massive number of small
electronic payments,
particularly when each
payment generates a
transaction cost greater
than the payment itself.
cookprint: the energy and
other resources used while
preparing meals
deather: a person who 2009
believes that U.S. health
care reform will lead to
more deaths, particularly
among the elderly
psychache: extreme 2010
psychological pain
upgradation: the state of
being upgraded; the act or
an instance of upgrading
eco-bling: ineffective
green technology,
particular equipment added
on to an existing building
that does little to reduce
the building‘s use of
natural resources.

Self-Assessment Test
Determine the result of semantic development of the following words a) broadening;
b) narrowing; c) elevation; d) degeneration:

105
 1 variant
1. The word hound (OE. hund) used to denote "a dog of any breed", but now it means
"a dog used in the chase".
2. Formerly barn meant "a storehouse for barley". Today it denotes "any kind of
storehouse for animals or equipment as wed as any kind of grain".
3. The word shrewd formerly meant "malicious, wicked; cunning, deceitful". Then it
came to mean "sharp wilted; having practical common sense".
4. The term agony aunt has traditionally been used to denote "someone who
hands out her advice, somewhat remotely, in the media, typically in the agony
column of a newspaper". Now it denotes "a woman who gives counseling on personal
problems".
5. The word sly originally meant "skillful".
6. The French borrowing arrive began its life in English in the meaning "to come
to shore, to land". In Modern English it has greatly changed its combinability and
developed the meaning "to come".
7. The noun fowl in Old English denoted "any bird", but in Modern English it
means "a domestic hen or cock".

2 variant
1. The word probe was introduced in the 16th century as a technical term in the
"language of medicine" to denote "a thin instrument with a blunt end, used by doctors
for learning about the depth and direction of a wound". Then probe came to mean "an
object used to investigate an unknown area".
2. The word pretty originally meant "sly".
3. The noun star on the basis of the meaning "a heavenly body" developed
another meaning - "a famous actor or actress". Later the second meaning changed its
range considerably, and now the word is applied not only to screen idols, but also to
popular sportsmen, pop-singers, etc.
4. The noun vegetable has recently developed a new meaning - "a human being
who has little or no power of thought, or sometimes also movement".
5. The word guru used to mean "a personal religious teacher and spiritual guide in
Hinduism". Now it has developed the meaning "a leading figure in some field".
6. The noun fowl in Old English denoted "any bird", but in Modern English it
means "a domestic hen or cock".
7. The current colloquial meaning of the noun cowboy covers a broad spectrum of
disapproval, from irresponsibility to unscrupulousness, but it seems to have started
life (in American English of the 1940s) as a synonym for a reckless driver.

Lecture 14. Homonyms: Words of the Same Form. Classifications of

Homonyms

Vocabulary

106
Accidental – happening unexpectedly and by chance
to coincide – 1. to happen at the same time 2. to be in harmony or agreement
due to … – because of …
treasury – place or building where treasure is stored
encumbrance – burden
pun – is a joke based upon the play upon words of similar form but different meaning
precise – accurately expressed, definite, exact.
Homonyms are words which are identical in sound and spelling, or, at least, in
one of these aspects, but different in their meaning, e. g.
bank, n. — a shore
bank, n. — an institution for receiving, lending, exchanging, and safeguarding
money;
ball, n. — a sphere, any spherical body;
ball, n. — a large dancing party.

Exercises
I. Study lecture 14 and give English equivalents to the following Russian
words and word-groups.
По крайней мере, бремя, случайный, сокровищница языковых ресурсов,
бесполезный, вести к непониманию и замешательству, та самая характерная
особенность, основываться на игре слов, недостаточно точный, отчетливая
черта, учитывать парадигму, полностью совпадать, частичные омонимы,
простые лексико-грамматические частичные омонимы, сложные лексико-
грамматические частичные омонимы, разные в правописании, одинаковые по
звучанию, претерпевать изменения.

II. Study lecture 14 and fill in the blanks with the prepositions.
1. to be identical … sound, to be different … meaning, to be rich … groups of words,
to be … no interest, … this respect, to be … particular value, to be created … a
particular purpose, … the process of communication, to be … an encumbrance, to
lead … confusion, to be based … the play upon words, to be the same … spelling, to
be most important … all, … the beginning of the chapter, to belong … different parts
of speech, to be seen … the examples, to have one identical form … the paradigm.

III. Study lecture 14 and give antonyms.

Identical, poor, purposeless, misunderstanding, important, popular, in the beginning,
precise, partially, simple.

IV. Match the words with their definitions. Use the lecture.
1. Homonyms a)words which are the same in;
spelling but different in sound;
2. Homonyms proper b) words which are the same in sound,
but different in spelling

3. Homophones c) words which are identical in sound and

107

4. Homographs
5. Full lexical homonyms
6. Simple lexico-grammatical
partial homonyms
7. Complex lexico-grammatical
partial homonyms
8. Partial lexical homonyms
spelling, but different in their meaning;
d)words which are the same in sound and
spelling;
e) words which belong to the same
category of parts of speech,
their paradigms have
one identical form;
f) words of the same category of parts
of speech which are identical only in
their corresponding forms;
g)words which represent the same
category of parts of speech and have
the same paradigm;
h) words of different categories
of parts of speech which have one
identical form in their paradigm

V. Study lecture 14 and complete the sentences.

1. Homonyms are words which are identical in sound and spelling but different in
their … . 2. Homonyms are accidental creations and therefore … . 3. In the
process of communication homonyms sometimes lead to confusion and … . 4.
Homonymy is one of the most important sources of … . 5. The pun is a joke based
upon … . 6. According to the traditional classification of homonyms there are three
types of homonyms, the are … . 7. Homonyms which are the same in sound and
spelling are called … . 8. Homograph are words which are the same in spelling but
different in … . 9. According to prof. A.I.Smirnitsky‘s classification homonyms are
divided into … . 10. Full lexical homonyms are words which represent the same
category of parts of speech and have … . 11. Partial homonyms are subdivided into
simple lexico-grammatical, partial lexical homonyms and … . 12. Simple lexico-
grammatical partial homonyms are words which belong to the same … . 13. Complex
lexico-grammatical partial homonyms are words of different categories of parts of
speech which have … . 14. Partial lexical homonyms are words of the same category
of parts of speech which are identical only in … .

Practicum

I. Find the homonyms in the contexts and say to which type they belong:
homophones, homographs or homonyms proper.
1. a) Hard work, Pennine air and Mrs. Hall's good food had filled me out and the
jacket failed to meet across my stomach by six inches (J.Herriot). b) "Wonder how
long a person can survive without meat?" says Maldeen, somewhat breezily (B.A.
Mason).

108
2. a) Because by now I had learned that Mr. Holden moved fast when he started and
for all I knew the strike might be settled that afternoon (J.M. Cain). b) They all
admired Jennie's new blouse and skirt, and one of them had brought her a book and
the other had brought a dress and hat for her doll (Sh. Jackson).
3. a)But before they left they again bound our wrists firmly behind us, and tightened
the cords on our ankles (R. Stout). b) With his left hand he seized the revolver,
thrusting it upwards (B. Cartland).
4. a) In a few moments, he had frantically excavated a hole into which he could
insert his head and shoulders (W. Morris). b) He could create whole worlds with one
hand (S. Sheldon).
5. a) He requested George and me to kiss his mother for him, and to tell all his
relations that he forgave them and died happy (J.K. Jerome). b) Irene Westcott was a
pleasant, rather plain girl with soft brown hair and a wide, fine forehead upon which
nothing at all had been written and in the cold weather she wore a coat of fitch skins
dyed to resemble mink (J. Cheever).
6. a) I had been trying to identify the sensation, and thought it was like the sudden lull
in a heavy wind which has been beating against the trees and the windows for hours,
and then stops (Sh. Jackson). b) I merely said I had been called to New York to wind
up some details of my financial settlement with the Harris and told him I would call
him by long distance every night (J.M. Cain).
7. a) She said the doctors told her not to drive; the bones in the back of her neck will
always be weak (J. Schumacher). b) It lay in a ditch for over a week (B.A. Mason).
8. a) The building was made of ordinary wood, painted white a few years ago but
starting to peel (J.C. Oates). b) When they wished to communicate with each other he
sent her a note addressed to her maid (B. Cartland).
9. a) "Let us walk down the road a little," said the priest (G.K. Chesterton), b) She
rode a borrowed bicycle (D. West).
10. a) Then three little slender bunches of ryestalks lay flat on the dewy grass beneath
the fence, one bunch behind each reaper's bent left leg (L. О'Flaherty). b) His grey
eyes were shadowed and, as Ferris passed into the flat, they flickered momentarily
(C. McCullers).
11.a) He gave her a little bow, but said nothing, and his eyes followed her as she
walked with measured step from the room (W.S. Maugham). b) Finally there were
two triumphant bouquets of violets, each with the stems wrapped in tinfoil shrouded
by a bow of purple chiffon; and one bouquet she wore at her waist and the other she
carried in her hand (B. Tarkington).
12.a) The road was built over a flat plain covered with gray alkali dust, with only a
few tufts of dry grass showing, and this plain extended for miles and miles (J.M.
Cain). b) We'll take the plane tonight, do whatever has to be done about your divorce,
and that will be the end of Mrs. Harris the Younger and Mrs. Harris the Elder (J.M.
Cain).
13.a) Miss Bewlay showed me where everything was kept (M. Spark).
b) My biggest worry was that my chair was beginning to show signs of wear... (J.
Herriot).

109
14.a) Anyone who had passed the time of day with him and his dog refused to share a
bench with them again (K. Vonnegut ). b) At a quarter past nine Andy and the sheriff
came in (G. Berriault).
15.a) The dawn had just broken and from the river rose a white mist shrouding the
junks that lay moored close to one another like peas in a pod (W.S. Maugham), b)
She was like a rosebud that is beginning to turn yellow at the edges of the petals, and
then suddenly she was a rose in full bloom (W.S. Maugham).
16. a) Her way of life was mean and miserly, but she did not know it (D. West). b)
In the cool blue twilight of two steep streets in Camden Town, the shop at the corner,
a confectioner's, glowed like the butt of a cigar (G.K. Chesterton).
17. a) She wore a necklace of diamonds set in silver (W.S. Maugham), b) We had
another council of war next day (A.C. Doyle).
18. a) At that moment they were all thinking precisely the same thing - that
somehow or other this clergyman, who was certainly not the local fellow, had been
sent to poke his nose into their business and to report what he found to the
government (R. Dahl). b) "The dogs followed the scent well," said Mr. Grant (A.
Christie).
19. a) The mahogany was hard and very dry, and as Claud worked, a fine red dust
sprayed out from the edge of the saw and fell softly to the ground (R. Dahl). b) The
whole family saw him to the door (C. McCullers).
20. a) He was riding from Kensington to Hampton Court when he was thrown from
his horse (Ph. Carr). b) He wanted to raise them against the present King and bring
James back to the throne (Ph. Carr).
21. a) She paints a little and sometimes she writes a poem (W.S. Maugham). b) Our
secret rites have been performed with love, like delivering a valentine to a
sweetheart's door in that blue-steel span of morning just before dawn (W.P. Kinsella).
22. a) She had none of the appearance of a woman likely to inflame great hate (E.
Waugh). b) Mr. Bigger threw his cigarette end into the grate (A. Huxley).
23. a) She heard her husband downstairs, mixing a whisky-and-soda (D.H.
Lawrence). b) He was the leader of a small herd which now approached the rapids
opposite us as silently as ghosts (J. Adamson).
24. a) Who is to lead the party into the next election? (Oxford Advanced Learner's
Encyclopedic Dictionary). b) With lead in his heart and ice in his fingers, he dialed
the number (J. Wain).
25. a) Most of us are familiar with the element carbon as graphite in pencil lead
(English Guides: Homophones). b) Most of them led nowhere (A. Christie).
26. a) But next morning Kitty rose early and leaving a note for Dorothy to say that she
was gone out on business took a tram down the hill (W.S. Maugham). b) She had not
appeared in London until she was nineteen, as she was in deep mourning for her
father (B. Cartland).
27. a) The audience was brilliant; indeed, though I had been an ardent first-nighter for
a year or two in my callow youth, I think I have never seen such a representation of
fashion and genius in America, except at the opera (R. Stout). b) The scene was not
exactly new to me (R. Stout).

110
28. a) I liked the Lone Ranger a lot (S. Shepard). b) Old men walking across a parking
lot in a row, in the dark, carrying coiled hoses, looking like the many wheels of a
locomotive, old men who have slipped away from their homes, skulked down their
sturdy sidewalks, breathing the cool, grassy, after-midnight air (W.P. Kinsella).
29. a) The dark shades were down and the late afternoon sun came in only in one or
two places along the sides of the window frames, in sharp, thin rays (I. Shaw). b)
Then you both raise up your voices and shout for "Bill!"... (J.K. Jerome).
30. a) My cousins wouldn't even go there to give birth for fear people would suspect
them of going for something else (J. Schumacher). b) I could have had a berth but
had asked Mr. Hunt not to take one, as I wanted to look (J.M. Cain).
31. a) I heard a man, going up a mountain in Switzerland, once say he would give
worlds for a glass of beer, and when he came to a little shanty where they kept it, he
kicked up a most fearful row because they charged him five francs for a bottle of
Bass (J.K. Jerome). b) Billy and I sat in the orchestra – about the twelfth row – and
half the faces in sight were well known to me (R. Stout).
32. a) He was rather a plain young man whom the Marquis had seen at Race-Courses
when his father was running a horse (B. Cartland). b) ...you also feel very
quarrelsome, and you swear at each other in hoarse whispers during the whole of
breakfast time (J.K. Jerome).
33. a) The only thing she knew was that she wanted to stay in Hong Kong as short a
while as might be (W.S. Maugham). b) His wife murmured pacifically that Betty was
really a dear little mite, but the remark met with no favour (A. Christie).
34. a) But I had a task before me; if a man lays bricks he should lay them well; and I
do not deny that there was a stirring of my pulse as I sat down (R. Stout). b) This
book has had its origin not only in many years of technical study of language, but in
practical experience of the needs of students in the classroom, in questions asked by
lay friends and acquaintances, and in letters read in the daily press or received from
many enquirers personally unknown (L.H. Gray).
35. a) Ferris asked permission to pour himself another drink and Elizabeth set the
cocktail shaker on the table at his side (C. McCullers). b) When that woman found
out you were in here she just camped down, and a fat chance I can get rid of her until
she shakes your money-clutching paw (J.M. Cain).
36. a) The officer shouted to him as they approached and he flung open one side of
the gate to let them through (W.S. Maugham). b) A small boy seated on the neck of a
water-buffalo drove it slowly home, and three peasants in wide straw hats lollopped
with sidelong gait under their heavy loads (W.S. Maugham).

II. Recollect homonyms for the underlined words in the "familiar quotations'".
1. Gambling is an express train to ruin (Unknown).
2. He who receives a good turn should never forget it; he who does one should never
remember it (P. Charron).
3. To read without reflecting, is like eating without digesting (E. Burke).
What is justice? To give every man his due (Aristotle).
4. Waste not fresh tears over old grieves (Euripides).

111
 5. He who reigns within himself, and rules passions, desires and fears, is more than a
king (J. Milton).

III. Recollect homonyms for the underlined words. Use dictionaries, if necessary.
Identify them as homophones, homographs, homonyms proper.
Set I
1. I was frying a slice of liver next evening when he turned up at the door (N.
Gordimer).
2. Angry women, seeing white sheets lying in the dust, threw sticks and stones at Pat,
and I had to pray that they would never hit and kill him (A. Marshall).
3. The doctor crossed the ward and stopped beside the bed of the drunk who was
sitting waiting for him, his face with its twitching mouth stamped with anxiety (A.
Marshall).
4. Blood was oozing out of his shoulder wound (F.M. Stewart).
5. She sat on the high seat, bracing herself to every plunge or sway, one hand
clutching the nickel rail at the end (A. Marshall).
8. These straggling, excited groups were mainly composed of men with green boughs
in their hats and the most ludicrous of weapons in their hands (R. Sabatini).
Set II
1. Imagining sharing a bottle of port with her father, who hunted three times a week (I.
Shaw).
2. His smouldering eye again sought the cowering girl (R. Sabatini).
3. I have a shortfall at my bank which they're beginning to fuss about (J. Archer).
4. I rent that part of my land to the club and they've made a little nine hole course (J.
Herriot).
5. ...I leant forward quickly and touched him with the heel of my good foot (A.
Marshall).
6. When the vet arrived he invariably found a sunken-eyed, dying creature and the
despairing treatment he gave was like a figurative administration of the last rites (J.
Herriot).
7. I would bury the money in Jenson's grave (J.H. Chase).
8. My needs grew greater each day... (A. Marshall).
9. And he stood in awe of his colonel (R. Sabatini).
10. It was a warm April night, and Millie wore a light wrap (F.M. Stewart).

IV. Find the homonyms in the following extracts. Classify them into homonyms
proper, homographs and homophones.
1. "Mine is a long and a sad tale!" said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing.
"It is a long tail, certainly," said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse's tail;
"but why do you call it sad?" 2. a) My seat was in the middle of a row. b) "I say, you
haven't had a row with Corky, have you?" 3. a) Our Institute football team got a
challenge to a match from the University team and we accepted it. b) Somebody
struck a match so that we could see each other. 4. a) It was nearly December but the
California sun made a summer morning of the season, b) On the way home Crane no
longer drove like a nervous old maid. 5. a) She loved to dance and had every right to
112
expect the boy she was seeing almost every night in the week to take her dancing at
least once on the weekend, b) "That's right," she said. 6. a) Do you always forget to
wind up your watch? b) Crane had an old Ford without a top and it rattled so much
and the wind made so much noise. 7. a) In Brittany there was once a knight called
Eliduc. b) She looked up through the window at the night. 8. a) He had a funny round
face, b) — How does your house face? — It faces the South. 9. a) So he didn't shake
his hand because he didn't shake cowards' hands, see, and somebody else was elected
captain, b) Mel's plane had been shot down into the sea. 10. a) He was a lean, wiry
Yankee who knew which side his experimental bread was buttered on. b) He had a
wife of excellent and influential family, as finely bred as she was faithful to him. 11.
a) He was growing progressively deafer in the left ear. b) I saw that I was looking
down into another cove similar to the one I had left. 12. a) Iron and lead are base
metals, b) Where does the road lead? 13. Kikanius invited him and a couple of the
other boys to join him for a drink, and while Hugo didn't drink, he went along for the
company.

V. On what linguistic phenomenon is the joke in the following extracts based?

What causes the misunderstanding?
1."Are your father and mother in?" asked the visitor of the small boy who opened the
door.
"They was in," said the child, "but they is out." "They was in. They is out. Where's
your grammar?" "She's gone upstairs," said the boy, "for a nap."
2."Yes, Miss Janes, it's true my husband has left his job. He thought it was better for
him to enlist rather than to be called up. Anyway, he has burned his bridges behind
him."
"Oh, well, I shouldn't worry about that. They'll provide him with a uniform in the
Army," commented the neighbour.
3."I got sick last night eating eggs."
"Too bad."
"No, only one."
4.Husband and wife were enjoying a quiet evening by their fireside, he deep in a
book and she in a crossword puzzle. Suddenly she questioned him:
"Darling, what is a female sheep?"
"Ewe [ju:]," he replied. His further explanation hardly soothed her.
5."I spent last summer in a very pretty city in Switzerland."
"Berne?"
"No, I almost froze."
6. Officer (to driver in parked car): Don't you see that sign "Fine for parking"?
Driver: Yes, officer, I see and agree with it.

VI. a. Find the homonyms proper for the following words; give their Russian
equivalents.
l.band— a company of musicians. 2. seal— a warm-blooded, fish-eating sea-
animal, found chiefly in cold regions. 3. ear — the grain-bearing spike of a cereal
plant, as in corn. 4. cut — the result of cutting. 5. to bore — to make a long round
113
hole, esp. with a pointed tool that is turned round. 6. corn — a hard, horny thickening
of the skin, esp. on the foot. 7. fall — the act of falling, dropping or coming down. 8.
to hail — to greet, salute, shout an expression of welcome. 9. ray — any of several
cartilaginous fishes, as the stingray, skate, etc. 10. draw — something that attracts
attention.
b. Find the homophones to the following words, translate
them into Russian or explain their meanings in English.
Heir, dye, cent, tale, sea, week, peace, sun, meat, steel, knight, sum, coarse, write,
sight, hare.
c. Find the homographs to the following words and transcribe both.
1. To bow — to bend the head or body. 2. wind — air in motion. 3. to tear— to pull
apart by force. 4. to desert — to go away from a person or place. 5. row — a number
of persons or things in a line.

VII. a. Classify the following italicized homonyms. Use Professor A. I.

Smirnitsky's classification system.
1. a) He should give the ball in your honour as the bride, b) The boy was playing
with a ball. 2..a) He wished he could explain about his left ear. b) He left the sentence
unfinished. 3. a) I wish you could stop lying. b) The yellow mouse was still dead,
lying as it had fallen in the crystal clear liquid. 4. a) This time, he turned on the light,
b) He wore $ 300 suits with light ties and he was a man you would instinctively trust
anywhere. 5.a) When he's at the door of her room, he sends the page ahead, b)
Open your books at page 20. 6.a) Crockett's voice rose for the first time, b) I'll
send you roses, one rose for each year of your life. 7. a) He was bound to keep the
peace for six months, b) You should bound your desires by reason. 8. a) The pain was
almost more than he could bear, b) Catch the bear before you sell his skin. 9. a) To
can means to put up in airtight tins or jars for preservation, b) A man can die but
once.
b. Explain the homonyms which form the basis for the following jokes. Classify the
types as in part a.
1. An observing man claims to have discovered the colour of the wind. He says he
went out and found it blew.
2. Chi1d: Mummy, what makes the Tower of Pisa lean?
Fat mother: I have no idea, dear, or I‘d take some myself.
3.Advertisement: "Lion tamer wants tamer lion."
4. Father: Didn't I tell you not to pick any flowers without leave?
Child: Yes, daddy, but all these roses had leaves.
5. D i n e r: Waiter, the soup is spoiled.
Waiter: Who told you that?
Diner: A little swallow.
6. The difference between a cat and a comma is that a cat has its claws at the end
of its paws, and a comma has its pause at the end of a clause.

114
 VIII. Provide homonyms for the italicized words in the following jokes and
extracts and classify them according to Professor A. I. Smirnitsky's classification
system.
1.Teacher: Here is a map. Who can show us America?
Nick goes to the map and finds America on it. Teacher: Now, tell me, boys, who
found America?
Boys: Nick.
2. Father: I promised to buy you a car if you passed your examination, and you
have failed. What were you doing last term?
Son: I was learning to drive a car.
3."What time do you get up in summer?"
"As soon as the first ray of the sun comes into my window."
"Isn't that rather early?" "No, my room faces west."
4. O1d Gentleman: Is it a board school you go to, my dear?
Child: No, sir. I believe it be a brick one!
5. Stanton: I think telling the truth is about as healthy as skidding round a corner at
sixty.
Freda: And life's got a lot of dangerous corners — hasn't it, Charles?
Stanton: It can have — if you don't choose your route well. To lie or not to lie —
what do you think, Olwen?
(From Dangerous Corner by J. B. Priestley)

Lecture 15. Sources of Homonymy

Vocabulary
Bank – a shore
bank – a financial institution
fair – just
fair – a gathering of buyers and sellers
match – a game; a contest of skill, strength
match – a slender short piece of wood used for producing fire
fan – an enthusiastic admirer of some kind of sport or of an actor, singer
fan – an implement for waving lightly to produce a cool current of air
rep – kind of fabric
to nickname – to call a person or thing by a nickname; give nickname to
bang – a loud, sudden, explosive noise
bang – a fringe of hair combed over the forehead
mew – the sound a cat makes
mew – a sea gull
mew – a pen in which poultry is fattened
mew – a small terraced house in Central London
board – a long and thin piece of timber
board – daily meals
board – an official group of persons who direct or supervise some activity

115
spring – the act of springing, a leap
spring – a place where a stream of water comes up out of the earth
spring – a season of the year

Board, n. (development of meanings)

Meals provided for pay

A long, thin piece of timber A piece of furniture

An official group of persons

Board I, II, III, n. (split polysemy)

A long thin A piece of

I.
piece of furniture
timber
Meals
II.
provided for
pay

III.
An official
group of
persons

Exercises
I. Study the lecture and give Russian equivalents to the following words and
word-groups
Respectively, native word, rite, a make, rep, bared with black, to comb over the
forehead, to sever, intrusion, diminished role, far-fetched, imprecise, acknowledge.

II. Study the lecture and give English equivalents to the following words and
word-groups.
Претерпевать фонетические изменения, начальный, терять, происходить от,
ярмарка, вносить значительный вклад, в этом отношении, без сомнения,
увеличивать число, инструмент, холодный поток воздуха, репс, шутливо,
давать прозвище, оперение, чисто случайный, по некоторым причинам,
раздробленная полисемия, составляющие семантическую структуру значения,
исчезать, терять единство, перенос по смежности, совет директоров,
устаревший, составные части, ослабевать, предмет мебели, лежать в основе
семантических сдвигов, восстановить потерянные связи, поддержать
требование, противоречить друг другу, по этому самому вопросу, получить
различное толкование.
116
 III. Give definitions.
Adaptation, conversion, lexico-grammatical homonyms, shortening, informal words,
sound imitation, polysemantic word, split polysemy, metaphor.

IV. Study the lecture and put in the missing prepositions.

… the course of the historical development; to descend … the Old English form; …
the final stage … the phonetic adaptation; to be … native origin; to originate … Old
English; to contribute …the growth of homonymy; to refer … different categories of
parts … speech; to be produced … the borrowing; to be made … shortening; to have
one important feature … common; to present an exception … in pairs of homonyms;
to differ … ; to be held together … logical associations, to be associated … one
another; transference based … contiguity; … the head of a stream; … the other hand;
to leap up …of the earth; to be enough … Old English; to be characteristic … modern
processes; to lay … the basis; to support the claim … homonymy; to be subjected …
to the split polysemy.

V. Choose synonyms.
Adjustment, to jump, to drop, to originate, to make, nowadays, scholar, to lose,
modern, adaptation, contemporary, to descend, scientist, to produce, to jump, today.

VI. Find in the text of the lecture antonyms for the following words.
Identical, native word, final, formal, to decrease, difference, seller, to refuse,
dependent, modern, possibility, easy, precise.

VII. Translate into English.

1. В процессе исторического развития слова подвергаются фонетическим
изменениям. 2. В результате таких изменений два слова, которые прежде имели
разное произношение, могут развить одинаковые звуковые формы и стать
омонимами. 3. Слова ―knight‖ и ―night‖, а также ―to knead‖ и ―to need‖ в древнем
английском языке не являлись омонимами, так как буква k в начале слов
―knight‖ и ―to knead‖ произносилась. 4. Как известно в современном английском
языке буква k в начале данных слов не читается, и данные пары слов являются
омонимами. 5. Источником омонимии в данных примерах являются
фонетические изменения. 6. Другим источником омонимии являются
заимствованные слова. 7. На последней стадии фонетической адаптации
заимствованное слово дублирует по форме как незаимствованное слово, так и
другое заимствование. 8. Например, слово ―bank‖ (берег) - незаимствованное
слово, а слово ―bank‖ (банк) является словом, заимствованным из итальянского
языка. 9. Слово ―match‖ (матч) - незаимствованное слово, а ―match‖ (спичка) -
французское заимствование. 10. Словообразование вносит значительный вклад
в развитие омонимии. 11. Самым важным способом словообразования в этом
отношении является конверсия, например, ―comb‖ и ―to comb‖, ―pale‖ и ―to
pale‖, или ―to make‖ и ―make‖ - примеры лексико-грамматических омонимов.
12. Сокращение как способ словообразования увеличивает число омонимов. 13.
Например, ―fan‖, сокращение от ―fanatic‖, и латинское заимствование ―fan‖
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(вентилятор), а также ―rep‖ (репс) и ―rep‖, сокращение от ―representative‖,
являются омонимами. 14. Звукоподражание также может образовывать пары
омонимов, например, ―mew‖ (мяу) и ―mew‖ (чайка). 15. Во всех описанных
выше случаях омонимы образуются от двух разных слов, за исключением
конверсии. 16. Омонимы могут образовываться от разных значений одного
слова, т.е. когда происходит раздробление семантической структуры
многозначного слова. 17. Этот источник омонимии называется раздробленная
полисемия. 18. Семантическая структура многозначного слова, как известно,
представляет собой систему, в которой все значения связаны между собой
логическими ассоциациями. 19. В большинстве случаев единство значений
определяется одним, основным значением. 20. Если это значение исчезает из
семантической структуры слова, то семантическая структура теряет свое
единство и распадается на несколько частей, которые вскоре становятся
независимыми лексическими единицами и могут образовывать омонимы. 21.
Исторически слово ―board‖ было многозначным, семантическая структура
которого включала в себя следующие значения: стол; питание; доска; совет. 22.
Все значения были связаны одним значением ―стол‖, которое являлось главным
значением. 23. Позже в английском языке появилось французское слово ―table‖,
которое заменило слово ―board‖ в значении ―стол‖. 24. В результате
заимствования ―table‖ связь значений слова ―board‖ была нарушена, и
семантическая структура слова распалась на отдельные слова, которые вскоре
и стали омонимами.

Practicum

I. Match words with their definitions.

1.bank a) kind of fabric
2. match b) gathering of buyers and sellers
3. fair c) shore
4. fan d) a long and thin piece of timber
e) a fringe of hair combed over the forehead
5. rep f) a game, a contest of skill, strength
6. bang g) an enthusiastic admirer of some kind of
sport
7. mew
8. board h) a small terraced house in Central London

II. Find homonyms and explain how they became homonyms.

1. a) Eliduc's overlord was the king of Brittany, who was very fond of the knight,
b) "I haven't slept a wink all night, my eyes just wouldn't shut." 2. a) The tiger did not
spring, and so I am still alive, b) It was in a saloon in Savannah, on a hot night in
spring. 3. a) She left her fan at home, b) John is a football fan. 4. a) "My lady, ... send
him a belt or a ribbon — or a ring. So see if it pleases him." b) Eliduc rode to the sea.
5. a) The Thames in London is now only beautiful from certain viewpoints — from
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Waterloo Bridge at dawn and at night from Cardinal's Wharf on the South Bank. b)
Perhaps the most wide-spread pleasure is the spectacle of the City itself, its people,
the bank messengers in their pink frock _coats and top hats. 6. a) The young page
gave her good advice: no need to give up hope so soon, b) The verb to knead means
to mix and make into a mass, with the hands or by machinery, especially, mix flour
and water into dough for making bread. 7. a) Ads in America are ubiquitous. They fill
the newspapers and cover the walls, they are on menu cards and in your daily post, b)
"Is that enough?" asked Fortune. "Just a few more, add a few more," said the man. 8.
a) The teacher told her pupils to write a composition about the last football match, b)
Give me a match, please. 9. a) I can answer that question, b) He had no answer. 10. a)
Does he really love me? b) Never trust a great man‘s love.

Revision "Homonymy"

Variant 1.
I. Find homonyms in the sentences and translate them into
Russian. State whether they are complete or partial, lexical or lexico-
grammatical homonyms.
1. Colin managed to slighter on the bank. 2. He was worried by the perfect storm of
wildcat money which was floating about and which was constantly coming to his
bank. 3. They will sack you as soon as things slacken. 4. We are going to take a sack
of coal. 5. They took up a lot of small fry. 6. It's a shame to fry an egg as fresh as that
one was.

II. Find homophones, transcribe them and translate into Russian.

1. Wait till I've finished this bit... The weight began to lift from his brain. 2. Old
Sessy had his way in due course. Gilbert gave one of his coarse laughs. 3. Then he
awoke in pain from his stiffened muscles and chilled by the mountain wind. Last
week one of the panes broke in the early morning.

III. Find the homographs for the following words and transcribe them. State
their different meanings and use them in sentences of your own.
Lead, compact, slough, row, lower.

IV. Make up a complete analysis of the homonyms given in italics. Translate

the sentences into Russian.
1.He couldn't bear to speak. First catch your bear and then divide the skin. Martine
and Joe, down to undershirts, bare-armed, sweated, and panted for air. 2. That's why
we came in here arid, that's why we'll go on fighting when we leave. Phyl got one
wheel of the pram caught in something. 3. All of them bowed low. It is the hour when
from the boughs the nightingale's high note is heard. Before them an Indian stood
with an arrow and a bow.

Variant 2.

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 I. Find homonyms in the sentences and translate them into Russian. State
whether they are complete or partial, lexical or lexico-grammatical homonyms.
1. You have to walk about fifty yards along the street. 2. They were all playing in
the backyard. 3. The little boy was still out. 4. Still waters have deep bottoms. 5. He
went over again to the sink. 6. He saw the sun sink beyond the horizon.

II. Find homophones, transcribe them and translate into Russian.

1. The rain was lashing at the rails. Throwing the rein of his own horse to Mr.
Smith he sprang up that which the stranger resigned to him. 2. The pale moon gave
him a view of the solitary tower. In another moment he was flying down the street
with his pail and a tingling rear. 3. The rabbits scudded away with their white tails in
the air. She was like the girl in the fairy tale.

III. Find the homographs for the following words and transcribe them. State
their different meanings and use them in sentences of your own.
Invalid, buffet, polish, bass, desert.

IV. Make up a complete analysis of the homonyms given in italics. Translate the
sentences into Russian.
1. All of them bowed low. It is the hour when from the boughs the nightingale's high
note is heard. Before them stood an Indian with an arrow and a bow. 2. She rose too.
The white lane wound down the hill between tall rows of elms. When she left the
room, an odour of rose, or some other magical fragrance, lingered about the nursery.
3. He had led a secluded existence in his college. Lead is mined in that region. They
lead a life quite distinct from that of the neighbours.

Self-Assessment Test "Homonymy"

Variant 1.
1. Choose the correct variant
Homonyms are ...
a)words which are identical in sound and spelling but different in their meaning;
a) words which are the same in sound and spelling;
b) words which are the same in spelling but different in sound.
2. Choose the correct variant
Homographs are ...
a) words which are the same in sound but different in spelling;
b) words which are the same in spelling but different in sound;
c)words which are identical in sound and spelling but different in their meaning.
3. Choose the correct variant
When the semantic structure of the word breaks into several parts this source of
homonymy is called ...
a) phonetic change;
b) word-building;
c) split polysemy.
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4. Choose the correct variant
The words bank (a shore) and bank ( a financial institution) are ...
a) Homophones;
b) Homonyms proper;
c) Homographs.
5. Choose the correct variant
Homophones are ...
a)words which represent the same category of parts of speech and have the same
paradigm;
b)words which are the same in sound but different in spelling;
c)words which are the same in sound and spelling.
6. Choose the correct variant
The words bow (to incline the head or body in salutation) and bow (a flexible strip
of wood for propelling arrows) are ...
a) homonyms proper;
b) homographs;
c) homophones.
7. Choose the correct variant
Homonyms proper are ...
a)words which belong to the same category of parts of speech, their paradigm have
one identical form;
b)words of the same category of parts of speech which are identical only in their
corresponding form;
c)words which are the same in sound but different in spelling;
d)words which are the same in sound and spelling.
8. Match the types of homonyms with their definitions:
1)full lexical homonyms;
2)simple lexico - grammatical partial homonyms;
3)partial lexical homonyms.
a) words of the same category of parts of speech which are identical only in their
corresponding forms;
b) words which represent the same category of parts of speech and have the same
paradigm;
c) words which belong to the same category of parts of speech, their paradigms have
only one identical form.
9. Choose the correct variant
Which types of word-building are the sources of homonymy?
a) conversion;
b) sound - imitation;
c) reversion;
d) shortening;
e) affixation.
10. Choose the correct variant
Night n. - knight n. – are ...
a) homonyms proper;
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b) homographs;
c) homophones.
11. Choose the correct variant
Homonyms spring (a leap), spring (a season of the year) are examples of...
a) phonetic changes;
b) split polysemy;
c) borrowings.
12. Choose the correct variant
A scientist who classified homonyms into two large classes: full homonyms,
partial homonyms
a) Pr. A.I. Smirnitsky;
b) Pr. V.D. Arakin;
c) Pr. V.K. Muller;
13. Choose all correct variants
The main sources of homonymy are :
a) phonetic changes;
b) shortening;
c) split polysemy;
d) sound imitation;
e) reversion;
f) conversion.
13. Choose the correct variant
The words bang (a loud, sudden noise), bang (a fringe of hair combed over the
forehead) became homonyms by means of ...
a) conversion;
b) sound-imitation;
c) shortening.
14. Choose the correct variant
Complex lexico-grammatical partial homonyms are...
a) words which are the same in sound and spelling;
b)words of the same category of parts of speech which are identical only
in their corresponding forms;
c)words of different categories of parts of speech which have one identical form in
their paradigms.
15. Choose the correct variant
The meanings of the words "board" - "meals", and ―board‖ -"an official group of
persons", developed from the meaning "table" by means of...
a) transference based on contiguity;
b)transference based on similarity.
16. Choose the correct variant
Paradigm is ...
a) a system of the grammatical forms peculiar to it as a part of speech;
b) the ability of words to have more than one meaning;
c) the branch of linguistics which specializes in the study of meaning;
d)the process of development of a new meaning.
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17. Choose the correct variant
The word match (a small piece of wood used for producing fire) is ...
a) a Latin borrowing;
b) a native word;
c) a French borrowing;
d) an Italian borrowing.
Variant 2.
1. Choose the correct variant:
Words which are identical in sound and spelling but different in their meaning are:
a) homographs;
b) synonyms;
c) metaphors;
d) homonyms.
2. Choose all false statements
a) English vocabulary is rich in homonyms;
b) Homonyms can be regarded as treasury of the language expressive resources;
c) Homonyms are of no particular value for communication;
d) Homonyms are accidental creations.
3. Choose the correct variant:
The pun is
a) a hit;
b) an implement used for making cool current of air;
c) a shortening from punch;
d) a joke based upon words of similar form but different in meaning.
4. Choose the correct variant:
Rite - write are
a) homonyms proper;
b) homophones;
c) homographs;
5. Choose homographs:
a) to lead (v) - lead (n)
b) scent-cent
c) one-won
d) can (modal) - to can
6. Choose all sources of homonymy
a) sound-imitation;
b) affixation;
c) conversion;
d) shortening.
7. Choose the correct variant:
The source of homonymy in the case of knead-need is:
a) phonetic change;
b) borrowing;
c) conversion;
d) shortening.
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8. Choose the correct variant:
The words bang (a loud, sudden noise), bang (a fringe of hair combed over
the forehead) became homonyms by means of ...
a)conversion;
b)sound-imitation;
c)shortening.
9. Choose the correct variant:
Bank (shore) - bank (financial institution) became homonyms due to:
a) shortening;
b) borrowing;
c) conversion;
d) split polysemy.
10. Choose the correct variant:
The type of word-building which is the most important source of homonymy:
a) shortening;
b) borrowing;
c) conversion;
d) sound-imitation.
11.Choose the correct variant:
The pair of rep (fabric) - rep (representative) is the example of homonyms made by:
a) shortening;
b) borrowing;
c) conversion;
d) split polysemy.
12.Choose homonyms which were created with help of sound- imitation:
a) to face - a face;
b) buy - by;
c) write - rite;
d) mew - mew.
13. Choose the correct variant:
Which source of homonymy is described by the following definition:
"Two or more homonyms can originate from different meanings of the same word
when, for some reason the semantic structure of the word breaks into several parts.
This type of formation of homonyms is called ..."
a) shortening;
b) borrowing;
c) conversion;
d) split polysemy.
14. Match the homonyms with the types of their formation:
a) to cut - a cut;
b) page -page;
c) bang - bang.
1. conversion;
2. sound-imitation;
3. borrowing.
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15. Choose the correct variant:
Homonyms spring(a season of the year) - spring (the act of springing, a leap) are
produced with help of
a) shortening;
b) borrowing;
c) conversion;
d) split polysemy.
16. Match the homonyms with their types:
a) homonyms proper;
b) homophones;
c) homographs;
1) to lead(v) - lead (n):
2) tail -tale;
3) match - match..
17. Choose the correct variant:
Groups of homonyms included in professor Smirnitsky's classification are:
a) partial lexical homonyms;
b) simple lexico-grammatical homonyms;
c) syntactic lexical homonyms;
d) complex lexico-grammatical homonyms.

Lecture 16. Synonyms: Criteria of Synonymy

Vocabulary
Controversy – disputation, debate
to convey – to carry, to transmit
to condemn – to blame
denotation – the direct explicit meaning or reference of a word or term
denotational meaning – the component of the lexical meaning which makes
communication possible, i.e. the component of the lexical meaning signifying or
identifying the notion or the object and reflecting some essential features of the
notion named
connotative component – additional semantic component of the lexical meaning
which serves to express all sorts of emotional, expressive, evaluative overtones
alteration – change
to apply – to make practical use of …
to highlight – to draw attention
inevitable – smth. that cannot be avoided
entirely – completely
to devoid smth./smb. of smth./smb. – to make free of …
extract – passage
incredible – that cannot be believed
to bind – to tie, to link closely
to justify – to be a good reason for …

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tint – variety of colour
hue – shade of colour
subtle – difficult to become aware of
dubious – felling doubt

Denotation Connotations
To stare +steadily, + in surprise,
to look
lastingly + curiosity, etc.
+ +
To glare steadily, + in anger, rage,
to look
+lastingly + fury

To gaze +steadily, in tenderness,

to look
+lastingly admiration,
wonder
To +briefly, in
to look
glance passing

steadily, by stealth;
To peep to look lastingly through an
opening or from a
concealed
steadily, with difficulty or
location
To peer to look lastingly strain

Exercises
I. Study lecture 16and give Russian equivalents to the following words and word
groups.
Controversy, shade of meaning, to convey, to condemn, vagueness, componential
analysis, beyond criticism, extra-linguistic, definitional analysis, in this way,
convincingly, to highlight, interchangeability, alteration, inevitable, sufficient,
entirely, to devoid, incredible, extract, to bind, to justify, tint, hue, subtle, dubious.

II. Give English equivalents to the following words and word groups. Use the
lecture.
Спорный, характерные черты, решать проблему, концептуальный критерий,
недостаток точности, семантический критерий, отобрать семантические
компоненты для анализа, сгруппированные слова, выдвигать на первый план
различия, применять, без изменения, нарушить высказывание, приводить к
выводу, лишить смысла, прочно связать, принять в качестве критерия, оттенки
цвета, стертые коннотации, полностью.

III. Fill in the blanks with the prepositions. Use the lecture.
To put smth. ... simpler words, to solve the problem ... smth., to define smth. ...
linguistic terms, to condemn ... vagueness, research ... synonymy, to study ... the help
of their dictionary definitions, ... the right side of the table, to apply smth. ... smth., to
lead ... the conclusion, to devoid smth ... smth., substitution of one word ... another.

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IV. Choose some pairs of synonyms. Substitute the italicized words for their
synonyms.
Advantages, to be sure, use, contemporary, controversy, frequently, dispute, change,
to be certain, modern, often, alteration, merits, apply.
1. Synonymy is associated with some theoretical problems which at present are still
an object of dispute. 2. We are still not sure which words should correctly be
considered as synonyms. 3. In modern research on synonymy semantic criterion is
often used. 4. This approach has its merits. 5.According to the criterion of
interchangeability, synonyms are defined as words which are interchangeable at least
in some contexts without any considerable change in denotational meaning.

V. Give the plural form of the following nouns.

criterion, phenomenon, analysis, datum,

VI. Match the criteria with the appropriate definition of synonyms

1. interchangeability a) synonyms are words with the same
denotation, but differing in connotations

2. semantic b) synonyms are words of the same category

of parts of speech conveying the same
concept but differing either in shades of
meaning or in stylistic characteristics
3. conceptual c) synonyms are words which are
interchangeable at least in some contexts
without any considerable alteration in
denotational meaning

VII. Complete the sentences. Use the lecture.

1. Synonymy is associated with some theoretical problems which at present are still
an object of ... . 2. The most controversial is the problem of ... .... ... and definition of
synonyms. 3. There are three criteria of synonymy, they are: the conceptual
criterion, the semantic criterion and the criterion of ... . 4. The conceptual criterion
defines synonyms as words of the same category of parts of speech conveying the
same concept but differing in ... . 5. In terms of the semantic criterion synonyms are
defined as words with the same denotative component, but differing in ... . 6. The
semantic criterion suggests that a group of synonyms should be studied with the help
of the definitional and transformational ... . 7. According to the criterion of
interchangeability synonyms are defined as words which are interchangeable in some
contexts without any considerable alteration in ... . 8. The criterion of
interchangeability has been much criticized, because the specific characteristic of
synonyms, justifying their very existence, is that they can not and shouldn't be ... .

VIII. Study lecture 16 and choose false statements

1. Synonymy at present is an object of controversy. 2. Traditional linguistics apply
the conceptual criterion in defining the synonyms. 3. The conceptual criterion defines
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the synonyms as words with the same denotation, but differing in connotations. 4. In
contemporary research on synonymy the semantic criterion is frequently used. 5.
According to the semantic criterion the synonyms are words of the same category of
parts of speech, conveying the same concept but differing in shades of meaning or in
stylistic characteristics. 6. The definitional analysis means that a group of synonyms
may be studied with the help of their dictionary definitions. 7. The connotational
component is the component of the lexical meaning which makes communication
possible. 8. The denotational component is the component of meaning signifying or
identifying the notion or the object and reflecting some essential features of the
notion named. 9. In the lexical meaning of the verb "to stare" the denotational
component is "to look". 10. In the lexical meaning of the verb "to gaze" the
denotational component is "steadily", "lastingly". 11. According to the criterion of
interchangeability the synonyms are defined as words which are interchangeable at
least in some contexts without any considerable alteration in denotational meaning.

IX. Prove that:

1. Synonymy is at present an object of controversy. 2. The conceptual criterion has its
disadvantages. 3. The semantic criterion has its advantages. 4. The criterion of
interchangeability can not be accepted as a valid criterion.

X. Translate from Russian into English.

1. В настоящее время синонимия рассматривается как объект разногласий.
2.Спорным вопросом в синонимии является проблема критериев определения
синонимов. 3. Традиционно эта проблема в лингвистике решается с помощью
концептуального критерия. 4. Концептуальный критерий определяет синонимы
как слова, принадлежащие к одной части речи, выражающие один и тот же
концепт, но различные своими стилистическими характеристиками или
оттенками значений. 5. В современных исследованиях синонимии часто
используется семантический критерий. 6. Семантический критерий дает
определение синонимов в терминах компонентного анализа. 7. С точки зрения
компонентного анализа синонимы – это слова с одним и тем же денотативным
компонентом, но с разными коннотативными компонентами. 8. Семантический
критерий предлагает некоторые методы анализа синонимов: анализ дефиниций
и трансформационный анализ. 9. Анализ дефиниций применяется при анализе
дефиниций синонимов из различных словарей. 10. После этого дефиниции
подвергаются трансформационному анализу, с помощью которого в значениях
синонимов выделяются семантические компоненты: денотативный и
коннотативный. 11. Согласно критерию взаимозаменяемости синонимами
являются словами, которые могут взаимно заменяться в некоторых контекстах
без каких-либо значительных изменений в денотативном значении. 12.Трудно
принять взаимозаменяемость в качестве критерия синонимии, поскольку
характерной особенностью синонимов, определяющей их существование,
является то, что они не могут и не должны быть взаимозаменяемыми.

XI. Read the following texts. Choose the right word for each context to complete
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the text below.
1. If you are invited to remain/to stay/to linger some time in the court of a great
lord, you will end up spending a lot of time standing/staying/posing around. When
this happens, do not sit down until the most important person present gives you
permission/allowance/authorization/green light to do so. This is not necessarily the
lord; if the king or queen or any other superior is visiting/attending/ frequenting the
same house, and is present, then the social courtesies/politenesses/pleasantries/
endearments of rank are automatically due to the king or queen, not the man whose
house this is. If a man who is superior/higher/more advanced in rank to you enters,
move back and make room for him to stand nearer the lord or lady than you. When
doing all this standing around do not let your eyes wander/travel/distract around the
room [I. Mortimer, ―The Time Traveller‘s Guide to Medieval England‖, 2007, P. 89].
2. One other contribution/input/share to the English vocabulary from Gulliver‘s
Travels is Lilliputian, meaning miniature. Many who have never made it to Book IV
still have enjoyed Book I, where Gulliver finds himself
shipwrecked/forlorn/devastated/run aground on an island where everyone and
everything is one-twelfth his size… That Lilliputian term and most of the other words
from the languages Gulliver encounters/meets…remain within the covers of the
book. But because Gulliver‘s story of Lilliput is so well-known/illustrious/
reputable, Lilliputian has entered/penetrated our vocabulary; and yahoo is so
successful that it is known even among those who have no knowledge of Swift‘s
book [A. Metcalf, ―Predicting New Words‖, 2002, P. 57].
3.Though speech input/contribution is necessary for speech
development/evolution, a mere soundtrack is not sufficient. Deaf parents of hearing
children were once advised to have the children watch a lot of television. In no case
did the children learn/study/acquire English. Without already knowing the
language, it is difficult for a child to figure out/make out/discern what the characters
in those odd, unresponsive televised worlds are talking about. Live human speakers
tend/try/strive to talk about the here and now in the presence of children [S. Pinker,
―The Language Instinct‖, 1994, P. 278].

Lecture 17. Types of Synonyms. Types of Connotations. The

Dominant Synonym

Vocabulary
Invariably – constantly
to abolish – to end existence of …
rigid – inflexible, strict
to imply – to hint, to insinuate
desolation – being loneliness
disgust – indignation, strong aversion
subsidiary – auxiliary, supplementary
to label – slip of paper, card for attaching to object and indicating its nature, name,
destination, etc.

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merriment – hilarious enjoyment
malice – cherish vindictive feelings
indignation – anger excited by supposed meanness
embarrassment – making (person) feel awkward or ashamed
modesty – a humble or moderate estimate of one‘s own merits
gait – manner of walking
stealth – secret procedure
strain – pull, stretching force, tension
to encode – to write in code
robustness – health
frugal - careful, sparing
abundant – more than enough, plentiful

Exercises
I. Give Russian equivalents to the following words and word groups. Use the
lecture.
To coincide, shade of meaning, diachronic level, invariably, vagueness, demarcation
line, subtle distinctive features, emotive connotation, connotation of duration, plainly,
evaluative connotation, connotation of manner, connotation of attendant
circumstances, indignation, modesty, embarrassment, purposefulness, gait, short-
sighted person, to encode, stature, frugal meal, abundant meal.

II. Give English equivalents to the following words and word groups. Use the
lecture.
Временный, проявлять тенденцию, отменить, стилистическая окраска,
упоминать, удобно классифицировать коннотации, исключение, список,
данный выше, эмоционально окрашенный, отвращение, дрожать от страха,
предостерегать от, известный сердцеед, вспомогательный, отношение
говорящего, эмотивная коннотация, знаменитый ученый, вдохновение,
оценочная коннотация, негодование, покраснеть от смущения, дрожать от
холода, смотреть напряженно, покраснеть от стыда, длина шага,
целеустремленность, запотевшие очки, походка, смотреть украдкой,
любопытная особенность, выглядывать из-за шторы, близорукий человек,
щуриться, высокий рост, изящные черты, а именно, дешевая еда.

III. Fill in the blanks with the prepositions. Use the lecture.
To coincide ... all their shades of meaning, to be open ... question, to be rare ... the
vocabulary, ... the diachronic level, to abolish absolute synonymy. ... rejecting one of
the synonyms, approach ... the classification, to be based ... the definition, the list
headed … the word, desolation resulting … being alone, to shudder … horror, in
addition … the others, to warn … confusing words, to sparkle … merriment, to look
… strain, to redden … indignation, to peer … the fog, to blush … shame, to look …
stealth, to peep … a curtain, to peer … darkness, to prevent smb. … seeing clearly.

IV. Choose true statements.

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 1.The only existing classification system for synonyms was established by
Academician V.V.Vinogradov. 2. In his classification system there are four types of
synonyms: ideographic, stylistic, absolute and perfect. 3. Ideographic synonyms are
words conveying the same concept and coinciding in all their stylistic characteristics.
4. Stylistic synonyms are words conveying the same concept but differing in shades
of meaning. 5. Absolute synonyms are words coinciding in all their shades of
meaning but differing in stylistic characteristics. 6. The synonyms to shout-to yell- to
bellow- to roar have a connotation of duration in their semantic structure. 7. The
synonyms to stare- to glare- to gaze have a connotation of duration in their semantic
structure. 8. In the group to produce- to create- to manufacture, the verb to create has
a positive evaluative connotation, and to manufacture a negative one. 9. The
causative connotation is typical of the verbs to shiver and to shudder. 10. The verbs
to stroll- to stride- to trot- to pace – to swagger have a connotation of duration. 11.
Synonyms snack, bite, snap, refreshment, feast are differentiated by stylistic
connotation.

V. Complete the sentences. Use the lecture.

1. The only existing classification system for synonyms was established by … . 2. In
V.V.Vinogradov‘s classification system there are three types of synonyms:
ideographic, stylistic and … . 3. Ideographic synonyms are words conveying the
same concept but differing in … . 4. Absolute synonyms are words coinciding in all
their shades of meaning and in all their … . 5. Stylistic synonyms are words differing
in … . 6. A more modern and a more effective approach to the classification of
synonyms may be based on the definition describing synonyms as words differing in
… . 7. There are the following types of connotations: the connotation of duration, the
connotation of degree, the connotation of manner, the evaluative connotation, the
emotive connotation, the causative connotation, the stylistic connotation, the
connotation of attendant features and the connotation of … . 8. The verbs to peep
and to peer are differentiated by connotations of duration and … . 9. The verbs to be
off, to clear out, to beat it, to take the air are examples of synonyms which are
differentiated by … …. . 10. The verbs to sparkle, to glitter have the emotive and …
…. . 11. The verbs to stare, to glare, to gaze, to glance have a connotation of … . 12.
In the group to tremble-to shiver – to shudder – to shake, the verb to shudder is
frequently associated with the emotion of … .

Practicum
I. Complete the synonymic rows.
To surprise- to astonish- to amaze – …
To shout – to yell- to roar – …
To like- to admire- to love- to worship – …
To satisfy- to please – to delight – to gratify – to exalt – …
To stare – to glare – to glance- to peer – …
To flash – …
To shudder – to tremble – to shake - …
To say , to speak – …
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Alone- single- lonely - …
Angry – furious – …
Fear – terror- …
Well – known - famous- notorious – …
To produce – to create – to manufacture - …
To sparkle – …
To stroll – to stride- to pace – to trot – to swagger- to stumble – …
Pretty – handsome- …
Snack – bite – snap – repast – feast – …
To leave – to be off – to clear out – to beat it – to take the air – to depart – to retire –
…
II. Match numbers with letters.
1. To sparkle with a) horror
2. Notorious b) anger
3. Celebrated c) amusement
4. To glitter with d) singer
5. To redden from e) cold
6. To shudder with f) shame
7. To shiver with g)fog
8. To blush from h) hole
9. To peep through i) swindler
10.To peer through j)indignation

III. Point out the synonymous words in the contexts and explain the difference
between them. Use an explanatory dictionary or/and a dictionary of synonyms if
necessary.
1. I tried not to bore you with my love; I knew I couldn't afford to do that and I was
always on the lookout for the first sign that you were impatient with my affection
(W.S. Maugham).
2. I butted one cop in the behind, with all my might I dragged on one of his legs. "Get
that kid out of here," one of them said, and somebody tried to grab me, but I kicked
and bit again. I tumbled headlong down the steps and grabbed the policeman's leg
again (J. Baldwin).
3. I understood then why I had been attracted by him. I had thought he reminded me
of Beau because of a faint resemblance which I had thought was merely that of one
dandy for another. I thought of the button I had found in Enderby Hall; the lingering
odour of musk. Beau's son, of course, who perhaps had been wearing a coat with gold
buttons which had belonged to his father , who had been brought up with a taste for
the musk scent (Ph. Carr).
4. She thought about it. "I could hardly give you all that money for something that
doesn't belong to you," she said, and smiled. "Please give them to me. Please, Philip.
Leila ought to have them back." "For how much dough?" (R. Chandler).
5. She is the kind of woman who doesn't mind if she looks plain, or odd; I don't
suppose she would even care if she knew how strange she looks when her whole face
is out of proportion with urgent uncertainty (N. Gordimer).
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6.The process called back derivation (backformation) has diachronic relevance only.
That peddle vb is derived from peddler sb through reinterpretation is of historical
interest. However, for synchronic analysis the equation is peddle: peddler = write:
writer, which means that the diachronic process of back derivation does not affect the
derivative correlation for present-day speakers who do not feel any difference
between the relationship write: writer on the one hand and peddle: peddler on the
other (H. Marchand).
7. I can almost see them doing it, the long, complicated ritual of rubbing the wood
with linseed oil, coating it over with French polish that has been cunningly coloured,
brushing it down with pumice-stone and oil, bees-waxing it with a wax that contains
dirt and dust, and finally giving it the heat treatment, to crack the polish so that it
looks like two-hundred-year-old varnish! (R. Dahl).
8. The front door slammed against the wall, and foot steps bounded up the stairs. A
thunderous roar came from inside, and Jim heard his own name being shouted in
venomous rage. The Colonel had found his dead wife, and he knew Jim had taken the
baby. Holding the infant tighter, Jim broke into a run (T. Herrington).
9. He did not know whether it was just a pool in the path, or the edge of an
underground stream that crossed the passage, or the brink of a deep dark subterranean
lake (J.R.R. Tolkien).

IV. Prove that in a language synonyms have a double nature: on the one hand,
they have something in common, on the other hand, there are certain differences
between them. For this, bring out the common features and the differential
features of the underlined synonyms, which are somehow opposed or contrasted
in the following contexts.
1. "You have also become a very beautiful young woman, and that brings all sorts
of difficulties in its way." He was well aware that Laela was staring at him in
astonishment."Do you really mean," she asked in a tone of voice that sounded
incredulous, "that I am pretty?"
"I said 'beautiful', and I meant ―beautiful‖. the Marquis affirmed. "The two words are
very different." (B. Cartland).
2. I didn't say you loved me. I only said you liked me (P. La Mure).
3. Then, as he made no attempt to conceal his feelings of mental superiority,
suspicion turned to dislike and finally to hate (A. Hailey).
4. The light of the lamp displayed his profile as though it were a cameo. With his
regular and finely-cut features it was very distinguished, but it was more than severe,
it was grim: that immobility of his, only his eyes moving as he perused each page,
was vaguely terrifying (W.S. Maugham).
5. Princeteau smilingly held out his sketchbook. Henri began to draw a pair of
trotting horses under the eyes of the deaf-mute artist, who watched him with an
indulgent interest, that soon changed to surprise, then astonishment. For a few
seconds he stared incredulously at the boy (P. La Mure).
6. He sat there smiling to show that he was pleased and amused, but his smile was
forced: it was more like a sarcastic smirk, and you could not help feeling that he
thought all those people enjoying themselves a pack of fools (W.S. Maugham).
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V. The sentences given below contain synonyms. Write them out in groups and
explain the difference where the words are familiar.
a) While Kitty chatted gaily with her neighbours she watched Walter, b) Ashenden
knew that R. had not sent for him to talk about weather and crops, c) As he spoke he
rose from the bed. d) He is said to be honest, e) He'll tell you all about himself, f) If
you wish to converse with me define your terms. 2. a) She felt on a sudden a cold
chill pass through her limbs and "she shivered, b) Her lips trembled so that she could
hardly frame the words, c) I was shaking like a leaf when I came here, d) He
shuddered with disgust. 3. a) He gave his wrist-watch a glance, b) Tommy gave her a
look out of the corner of his eye. c) But her abstract gaze scarcely noticed the blue
sea and the crowded shipping in the harbour, d) Let me have just one peep at the
letter. 4- a) Bessie gets up and walks towards the window, b) He did nothing from
morning till night but wander at random, c) I saw a man strolling along, d) The men
sauntered over to the next room. 5. a) I began to meditate upon writer's life, b) You
had better reflect a little, c) The more he thought of it the less he liked the idea, d) I'm
sure that a little walk will keep you from breeding. 6. a) The next witness was Dr.
Burnett, a thin middle-aged man. b) The woman was tall with reddish curly hair and
held a scarlet kimono round her slender figure, c) The girl was slim and dark, d)
Studying him, Mrs. Page saw a spare young man with high cheekbones and blue
eyes. 7. a) There was a fat woman, who gasped when she talked, b) She came in like
a ship at full sail, an imposing creature, tall and stout, c) She was twenty-seven
perhaps, plump, and in a coarse fashion pretty, d) He was a person of perhaps forty,
red-faced, cheerful, thick. 8. a) Strange, unstable woman. It was rather embarrassing
that she would cry in a public gallery. It was a life that perhaps formed queer
characters. I thought it odd that they should allow her to dance quite quietly in Berlin,
d) It is a veritable picture of an old country inn with low, quaint rooms and latticed
windows.

VI. Give as many synonyms for the italicized words in the following jokes as you
can. If you do not know any of them consult the dictionaries.
1."I hear there's a new baby over at your house, William," said the teacher. "I don't
think he's new," replied William. "The way he cries shows he's had lots of
experience."
2.A little boy who had been used to receiving his old brother's old toys and clothes
remarked: "Ma, will I have to marry his widow when he dies?"
3.Small boy (to governess): Miss Smith, please excuse my speaking to you with my
mouth full, but my little sister has just fallen into the pond.
4.A celebrated lawyer once said that the three most troublesome clients he ever had
were a young lady who wanted to be married, a married woman who wanted a
divorce, and an old maid who didn't know what she wanted.
5.Воss: You are twenty minutes late again. Don't you know what time we start to
work at this office?
New Employee: No, sir, they are always at it when I get here.

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6.He (as they drove along a lonely road): You look lovelier to me every minute. Do
you know what that's a sign of?
She: Sure. You are about to run out of gas.
7. Husband (shouting upstairs to his wife): For last time, Mary, are you coming?
Wife: Haven't I been telling you for the last hour that I'll be down in a minute.
8. "Oh, Mummie, I hurt my toe!" cried small Janey, who was playing in the garden.
"Which toe, dear?" I inquired, as I examined her foot. "My youngest one," sobbed
Janey.

VII. Carry out definitional and transformational analysis on the italicized

synonyms using the explanations of meanings given below.
1.Old means having lived a long time, far advanced in years; elderly means
approaching old age, between middle and old age, past middle age, but hardly old;
aged is somewhat old, implies greater age than elderly; ancient is so old as to seem to
belong to a past age.
2.To create means to make an object which was not previously in existence, to bring
into existence by inspiration or the like; to manufacture is to make by labour, often by
machinery, especially on a large scale by some industrial process; to produce is to
work up from raw material and turn it into economically useful and marketable
goods.
3.To break is to separate into parts or fragments; to crack is to break anything hard
with a sudden sharp blow without separating, so that the pieces remain together; to
shatter is to break into fragments, particles and in numerous directions; to smash is to
destroy, to break thoroughly to pieces with a crashing sound by some sudden act of
violence.
4.To cry is to express grief or pain by audible lamentations, to shed tears with or
without sound; to sob is to cry desperately with convulsive catching of the breath and
noisily as from heart-rending grief; to weep means to shed tears more or less silently
which is sometimes expression of pleasurable emotion.
5. Battle denotes the act of struggling, a hostile encounter or engagement between
opposite forces on sea or land; combat denotes a struggle between armed forces, or
individuals, it is usually of a smaller scale than battle, less frequently used in a
figurative sense; fight denotes a struggle for victory, either between individuals or
between armies, ships or navies, it is a word of less dignity than battle, fight usually
implies a hand-to-hand conflict.

VIII. Prove that synonyms possess a dual nature.

to shake — to tremble — to shiver — to shudder. 2. smell — scent — odour —
aroma. 3. to walk — to stroll — to saunter — to wander. 4. to want — to wish — to
desire. 5. weak — feeble — frail — fragile. 6. large — big — great. 7. to jump — to
leap — to spring — to skip — to hop. 8. pain — ache — pang — twinge. 9. to
discuss — to argue — to debate — to dispute. 10. dim — dusky — obscure

IX. Find synonyms and single out the denotative and connotative components of
their meanings.
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l. a)At the little lady's command they all three smiled. b) George, on hearing the story
grinned. 2a) Forsyte — the best palate in London. The palate that in a sense had made
his fortune — the fortunes of the celebrated tea men, Forsyte and Treffry... b) June,
of course, had not seen this, but, though not yet nineteen, she was notorious. 3) a)
Noticing that they were no longer alone, he turned and again began examining the
luster. b) June had gone. James had said he would be lonely. 4. a) The child was
shivering with cold. b) The man shuddered with disgust. 5.a) I am surprised at you. b)
He was astonished at the woman's determination. 6. a)It's impolite to stare at people
like that. b) The little boys stood glaring at each other ready to start a fight. c) The
lovers stood gazing into each other's eyes. 7.a) They produce great amounts of wine
but this is not all they produce in that part. b) The story was fabricated from
beginning to end. 8. a) On hearing from Bosinney that his limit of twelve thousand
pounds would be exceeded by something like four hundred, he had grown white with
anger. b) "It's a damned shame," Andrew burst out, forgetting himself in a sudden
rush of indignation. 9. a)He was an aged man, but not yet old. b) He was an elderly
man at the time of his marriage. 10. The distance between the Earth and the Sun may
be said to be immense; the distance between the poles is vast.

X. Prove that the rows of words given below are synonyms. Use the semantic
criterion to justify your opinion.
1.To shout— to yell— to roar. 2. angry — furious — enraged 3. alone — solitary —
lonely. 4. to shudder— to shiver— to tremble. 5. fear—terror— horror. 6. to cry — to
weep — to sob. 7. to walk — to trot — to stroll. 8. to stare -5— to gaze — to glare 9.
to desire — to wish — to want. 10. to like — to admire — to worship.

XI. Find synonyms in the examples given below and say why they are not
interchangeable.
1. a) The little boys stood glaring at each other ready to start a fight, b) The Greek
myth runs that Narcissus gazed at his own reflection in the water until he fell in love
with it and died. 2. a) She is a very pretty American girl of twenty-two, with fair hair
and blue eyes. b) She was a tall, blonde woman, slender, and stately and beautiful. 3)
a) You don't know what a shock it was, Constance. I was knocked endways. I'd been
brooding over it ever since till I was afraid I should go mad. b) She'd evidently had
time to reflect because when I came again she asked me quite calmly what it was ex-
actly that I proposed. 4. a) She began to sob hysterically, b) Mortimer looks from
Marie Louise who is quietly weeping to Constance with the utmost bewilderment.
You only want a car so that you can be independent of me. b) She longed with all her
heart for him to take her in his arms so that she could lay her head on his breast. 6. a)
People turned in the street and stared at her with open mouths. b) R. got up and
strolled slowly about the room and when he passed the windows as though in idle
curiosity, peeped through the heavy crep curtains that covered them, and then
returning to his chair once more comfortably put his feet up. 7) a) He was puzzled at
the letter. b) I was astonished at seeing him so changed. 8) a) Many of them had their
sleeves rolled up, revealing bare arms. b) He saw naked children playing on the heaps
of rubbish. 9. a) There was a scent of honey from the lime-trees in flowers. b) The
136
room was permeated with the familiar smells of dust and yesterday's cooking. 10)
Questions are never indiscreet. Answers sometimes are. b) He sought for a crushing
phrase, some final and intimidating repartee.

XII. From the sentences given below write out the synonyms in groups and
classify them into: A. synonyms differentiated by the connotation of duration; B.
synonyms differentiated by the connotation of degree or intensity; C. synonyms
differentiated by the causative connotation. Explain the reasons for your
decisions.
1.He shuddered at the thought of a meeting that lay before him. 2. The whole
situation, he tells me, was extraordinary, like that of an African explorer who,
endeavouring to ignore one of the local serpents, finds himself exchanging glances
with a man-eating tiger. 3. He merely blushed and said that he was jolly well going to
go, because this girl was in Cannes. 4. Gosh, how I used to admire you at the dear old
school. You were my hero. 5. What I really want is a meal. 6. That is the trouble
about Cannes in August — it becomes very mixed. You get there splendid chaps who
were worshipped by their schoolmates — and you also get men like this bookie. 7.
He resents their cold stare. 8. Her voice was trembling with excitement. 9. He made a
short speech in French, and the mothers all applauded, and the babies all yelled. 10.
The girl was shivering with cold. 11.I must confess I am a little surprised. 12. "A
truck driver," shouted someone from the audience. 13. "You have settled it!" cried
the astonished parent. 14. The audience roared with laughter. 15. He was speaking
for half an hour or so. 16. His face reddened, he could hardly keep his temper. 17. "I
adore you, Mary," he said. 18. His eyes glittered with malice. 19. She would have
liked to go there herself but couldn't. 20.. His eyes were blazing as he heard how
cruelly the children had been treated. 21.I was perfectly amazed that one man, all by
himself, should have been able to beat down and capture such battalions of practised
fighters. 22. His eyes sparkled with happiness.

XIII. Classify the following synonyms in two columns according to: a) degree
(intensity) of the referent; b) brief or lengthy duration of the referent.
l. Gratify, please, exalt, consent, satisfy, delight. 2. Cry, weep, sob. 3. Glance, gaze,
glare, stare. 4. Tremble, shiver, shudder, shake. 5. Worship, love, like, adore, admire.
6. Talk, say, tell, speak. 7. Roar, shout, cry, bellow, yell. 8.Astound, surprise, amaze,
astonish. 9. Cold, cool, chilly. 10. Want, long, yearn, desire, wish. 11. Vast, immense,
large.

XIV. Write out synonymic groups and classify them into: A. synonyms
differentiated by evaluative connotations; B. synonyms differentiated by
connotation of manner.
1. Besides, Jack is a notorious domesticity for John! 2. His eyes sparkled with
amusement. 3. "Joey-Joey...!" I said staggering unevenly towards the peacock.
4. Betty would have liked to peep in but could not. 5.Presently I saw a man strolling
along. 6. Her eyes glittered with hatred. 7. Those artisans produce pottery with great
skill. 8. He was a well-known scientist. 9. It's getting late, so I must trot away. 10.
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The boy was peering into a dark room. 11. He swaggered along the corridor,
evidently in high spirits. 12. The will was fabricated. 13. There was a picture of a
celebrated painter on the wall.

XV. Within the following synonymic groups single out words with emotive
connotations.
1.Fear — terror — horror. 2. look — stare — glare — gaze — glance. 3. love —
admire — adore — worship. 4. alone— single— solitary— lonely. 5. tremble —
shiver — shudder — shake. 6. wish — desire — yearn — long.

XVI. Find synonyms. What are their stylistic characteristics?

1. a) I was a very young man when I first came to London and I made mistakes. b)
I've found him very useful. Not a bad chap. c) I put a very smart lad on the job. d) He
is a very nice fellow. 2. a) The sister drew back the cloth and displayed four tiny,
naked infants. b) She knew that he had desperately wanted her to bear a child, c) You
ought to have a kid or two. 3.a) What I really want is a meal. b) I could do with a
snack. c) Let's have a bite, d) They decided to order some refreshment.
4. a) "Now clear out," Althrope says, "both of you." b) He nodded, grinned again at
her, then withdrew and went out to the main deck, c) In silence the widow departed,
d) When he left the house he promised to return at nine o'clock that night, e) I'm
busy. Clear off quickly, f) She liked to read before retiring for the night.
5. a) "Fool around with chalk and crayons. It'll be fun." "Bosh!" b) "There it is, young
man," he snapped. "Such foolishness. Poppycock!" c) He said he wouldn't stand that
nonsense of yours.

XVII. Identify the stylistic connotations for the following italicized words in the
jokes given below and write their synonyms with other stylistic connotations.
1. "I must say these are fine biscuits!" exclaimed the young husband. "How could
you say those are fine biscuits?" inquired the young wife's mother, in a private
interview. "I didn't say they were fine. I merely said I must say so."
2. "Willie," said his mother, "I wish you would run across the street and see how
old Mrs. Brown is this morning." "Yes'm," replied Willie and a few minutes later he
returned and reported: "Mrs. Brown says it's none of your business how old she is."
3. "Yes, she's married to a real-estate agent and a good, honest fellow, too."
"My gracious! Bigamy?"
4. Wi11ie: Won't your pa spank you for staying out so late?
Tommy (whose father is a lawyer): No, I'll get an injunction from ma postponing
the spanking, and then I'll appeal to grandma and she'll have it made permanent.

XVIII. Find the dominant synonym in the following groups of synonyms.

Explain your choice.
1. to glimmer — to glisten — to blaze — to shine — to sparkle— to flash— to
gleam. 2. to glare— to gaze — to peep — to look — to stare — to glance. 3. to
astound — to surprise — to amaze — to puzzle — to astonish. 4. strange — quaint
— odd — queer. 5. to saunter — to stroll — to wander — to walk — to roam. 6.
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scent — perfume — smell — odour — aroma. 7. to brood — to reflect — to meditate
— to think. 8. to fabricate — to manufacture — to produce — to create — to make.
9. furious — enraged — angry. 10. to sob — to weep — to cry.
XIX. Find the dominant synonyms for the following italicized words and prove
that they can be used as substitutes. Are they interchangeable? What is lost if we
make the substitution?
1. Never for a moment did he interrupt or glance at his watch. 2. The girl looked
astonished at my ignorance. 3. Sometimes perhaps a tramp will wander there, seeking
shelter from a sudden shower of rain. 4. I am very different from that self who drove
to Manderley for the first time filled with an intense desire to please. 5. The stony
vineyards shimmer in the sun. 6. The restaurant was filled now with people who
chatted and laughed. 7. I've got a sister and an ancient grandmother. 8. A bowl of
roses in a drawing-room had a depth of colour and scent they had not possessed in the
open. 9. He saw our newcomers, arms wound round each other, literally
staggering from the bus. 10.Chicken-pox may be a mild children's disease. 11.In
a funny way she wanted to reach out for that friendliness as if she needed it. Which
was odd. 12. It could be a dream world. So pretty, yet so sad.

XX. Find the dominant synonym and name the type of connotation by which
synonyms below differ. In what context would you use each of the synonyms?:
1. Brave – courageous – valiant – bold – fearless – intrepid; stupid – dim – dazed –
slow – witted; talkative – verbose – loquacious – eloquent – voluble; clever –
intelligent – sensible – sagacious – acute – wise; merry – lively – jolly – cheerful –
jovial – cheery – joyous; sad – mournful – doleful – wistful – grievous – dismal –
rueful
2. to respect – to esteem – to revere – to honour; to fight – to knock – to hit – to
strike; to live – to dwell – to reside – to subsist; to eat – to consume – to devour –
gobble – gorge – sup – wolf; expose – uncover – bare – disclose – divulge – reveal –
unveil.
3. Clothes – apparel – garment; stoutness – corpulence – plumpness – obesity; illness
– sickness – disease – ailment – malady – malaise; noise – murmur – roar – din –
uproar – hubbub – racket– clamour.

Revision ―Synonymy‖.

Variant 1.
I. Find the synonymic dominant. Give reasons for your choice. Translate the
synonyms into Russian.
1. Exact, precise, accurate.
2. Savage, uncivilized, barbarous.
3. Hide, conceal, disguise.
4. Lazy, indolent, idle, vain.
5.Clever, able, intelligent, keen, sharp.

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II. Arrange the following ideographic synonyms according to their degree of
intensity. Translate them into Russian. Use them in sentences of your own.
1. Ask, implore, beg.
2. Longing, desire, wish.
3. Wither, decay, fade.
4. Handsome, pretty, beautiful.
5. Irritate, annoy.
6. Pierce, penetrate.
7. Alarmed, frightened, terrified.
8.
III. Comment on the stylistic usage of the synonyms.
Girl – lass
pretty — bonny
shut up! – hush!
learned–erudite
stomach – belly
foolish–unwise
also–eke

ll Variant 2

I. Find the synonymic dominant. Give reasons for your choice. Translate the
synonyms into Russian.
1.Agree, approve, consent.
2.Recall, recollect.
3. Cry, weep, scream, shriek.
4.Ignorant, illiterate, uneducated, misinformed.
5. Agile, nimble, alert, quick, brisk, active.

II. Arrange the following ideographic synonyms according to their degree of

intensity. Translate them into Russian. Use them in sentences of your own.
1. Happiness, pleasure, delight.
2. Abominable, detestable, execrable.
3.Astonishment, consternation, surprise.
4.Excuse, pardon, forgive.
5.Accident, disaster, misfortune.
6.Malicious, naughty, nasty, wicked.
7.Genius, capability, talent.

III. Comment on the stylistic usage of the synonyms.

trousers– unmentionables
possible – feasible
toothpowder– dentifrice
good-bye– farewell
gay – blithe
140
evening– eventide
musician –minstrel

Lecture 18. Euphemisms

Vocabulary
Indecent – not decent, obscene
rude – impolite
offensive – causing offence
to allude – to refer indirectly
refinement – improvement, purity of feeling, taste
avoidance – act of avoiding
deciphering – finding the meaning of…, turning into ordinary writing
innocent – not guilty, harmless
embarrassing – making a person feel awkward or ashamed
lodger – a person supplied with a room or place to sleep in for a time
affectation – behavior that is not natural or genuine
to ridicule – to make fun of …
genuine – true
reluctance – being unwilling or not wanting to …
to utter- to pronounce
to lack – to have less than enough
discreetly- carefully
solemn – serious and important
evasive – avoiding answering

Examples
1."Motty was under the surface. Completely sozzle."(From Pight-Ho, Jeeves by P.
G. Wodehouse).
2.prison and to imprison.
"Oh, no, he isn't ill," I said, "and as regards accidents, it depends on what you call
an accident. He's in chokey."
"In what?"
"In prison."
"... And now Mr. Sipperley is in the jug... He couldn't come himself, because he
was jugged for biffing a cop on Boat-Race Night."(Ibid.)
3. "He's gone off his rocker!" shouted one of the fathers, aghast, and the other
parents joined in the chorus of frightened shouting.
"He's crazy!" they shouted.
"He's balmy!"
"He's nutty!"
"He's screwy!"
"He's batty!"
"He's dippy!"
"He's dotty!'
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"He's daffy!"
"He's goofy!"
"He's beany!"
"He's buggy!"
"He's wacky!"
"He's loony!"
"No, he is not!" said Grandpa Joe(From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by R.
Dahl).
... "What did I tell you!" — cried Grandma Georgina. "He's round the twist! He's
bogged as a beetle! He's dotty as a dingbat! He's got rats in the roof!..."
(Ibid.)

Exercises
I. Study lecture 18 and give English equivalents to the following words and word
groups.
To allude, indecent, round-about way, substitutes, pretentiousness, avoidance,
deciphering, reference, lavatory, innocent, landlady, embarrassing, lodger,
affectation, to ridicule, ridiculous, to surpass, ,pillow-slip, unrefined, drunkenness,
tipsy, mellow, overcome, drunk as a lord, tight, sizzled, half –over-seas, to hurt one‘s
feelings, social taboos, superstitious taboos, reluctance, subconscious fear, distant
past, creature, to utter, unspeakable disaster, a round-about way, one-lurking –in the-
wood, to assume, subtle shades, speak of the devil and he will appear, to trace, to lurk
behind the words, to be reluctant to use, solemn substitute, to pass away, to breathe
one‘s last, to depart this life, to yield up the ghost, to go the way of all flesh, to kick
off, to kick the bucket, to hop the twig, to lack, insane, unhinged, not all there, off
one‘s head, off one‘s rocker, wrong in the upper storey, to have bats in one‘s belfry,
to be off one‘s nut, loony, asylum, nut house, discreetly, to have got rats in the roof,
rough, solemn, evasive.

II. Study lecture 18 and give Russian equivalents to the following words and
word groups.
Эвфемизмы, неприличный, бестактный, подразумевать, непрямой путь,
социальное соглашение, уклонение, быть способным, изысканность,
расшифровка, туалетная комната, сноска, наивный, затруднительный,
домовладелица, жилец, сдавать комнату, притворство, чрезмерное
использование, знак хорошего вкуса, высмеивать, превосходить, наволочка,
нижние конечности, смешной, пьянство, ―под мухой‖, подвыпивший,
―перебравший‖, ―на веселее‖, ―пьян как сапожник‖, ―нализавшийся‖, ― море по
колено‖, цитата, в тюрьме, избиение полицейского, лжец, социальное табу,
истинная забота, табу, связанное с суевериями, нежелание, называть вещи
своими именами, страх, уходящий глубоко корнями, далекое прошлое
человечества, злые духи, произносить, суеверные страхи, смертельная болезнь,
суеверия, причинять страх, явиться причиной появления, трудно уловимые
оттенки, говорить о смерти, прослеживать, неохотно использовать, серьезная
замена, скончаться, испустить последний вздох, уйти из жизни, ―отдать богу
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душу, ― протянуть ноги‖, ― сыграть в ящик‖, испытывать недостаток,
умственные болезни, душевнобольной, сойти с ума, помешаться, ―не все дома‖,
―быть не в своем уме‖, полоумный, психиатрическая больница, сумасшедший
дом, спятивший, осторожно, использовать в комических целях, в первом
случае, высмеивать, уклончивый.

III. Study lecture 18 and fill in the blanks with the prepositions.
To stand … the referent, to allude …words, a substitute … the adjective, substitutes
are no longer … use, to ridicule people… their attempts to express themselves,
words associated … drunkenness, to be inspired … social conventions, due …
concern, to call things … their proper names, to be typical … this type of
euphemisms, speak … the devil and he will appear, to have roots … the distant past,
to describe things … their various aspects, to be inherited … ancient beliefs, to give
rise … the use … euphemisms, to use … comical purposes.

IV. Give antonyms. Use the lecture.

Decent, delicate, polite, indirect, refined, pleasant, prison, poor, easy, the worst.

V. Study lecture 18 and complete the sentences.

1. Words in every language which people avoid are called … . 2. Euphemisms are
substitutes for indecent, indelicate, rude and … words. 3. Euphemisms are dictated
by social conventions or by psychological … . 4. Most of the euphemisms have
stylistic connotations in their semantic … . 5. Euphemistic connotations in formal
euphemisms are solemn and delicately … . 6. Euphemistic connotations in slang
euphemisms are cynical and … . 7. Writers use the euphemisms for comical … . 8.
There two types of euphemisms, euphemisms used to avoid social taboos and
euphemisms used to avoid … . 9. The use of social taboos is inspired by … . 10. The
use of superstitious taboos is caused by … . 11. The euphemism ―under the
influence‖ is used to avoid the social taboo … . 12. Euphemisms used as substitutes
for the adjective ―pregnant‖ are … . 13. The euphemism for ―to go to bed‖ is … . 14.
The word ―lavatory‖ produced such euphemisms as … . 15. A landlady can use the
euphemism ―paying guests‖ when refers to her … . 16. A mad person may be
described by the euphemisms … . 17. Colloquial and slang euphemisms for the word
―mad‖ are … . 18. The verb ‗to die‖ has humorous substitutes, such as … . 19.
Superstitious taboos have their roots in the distant past of mankind when people
believed that there was a supernatural link between a name and the object or creature
it … . 20.Superstitious taboos are words denoting evil spirits, dangerous animals or
… . 21. The Christian religion made certain words taboo, for example: … .

VI. Questions for discussion.

1. What words do the euphemisms substitute for? 2. What are the use of euphemisms
and the very existence of euphemisms caused by. 3. Why does a landlady refer to her
lodgers as ―paying guests‖? 4. Are euphemisms used to hurt someone‘s feelings? 5.
What is typical of the euphemisms, used for superstitious taboos? 6. What words
were taboo in the distant past of the mankind? 7. What words did the Christian
143
religion make taboo? 8. What substitutes did these taboos have? 9. Why are people
reluctant to use the verb ‗to die‖? 10. What solemn and humorous substitutes does the
verb ―to die‖ have? 11. Why do the writers use the euphemisms?

Practicum
I. Match the words with their euphemisms.
1. lavatory a)sit- upons
2. pregnant b) loony
3.trousers c) lower extremities
4. to go to bed d) tipsy
5. legs e) jug
6. drunk f) deuce
7. prison g) to kick the bucket
8. devil h) windsor castle
9. to die i) in a delicate condition
10. mad j) to retire

II. Find the euphemisms which correspond to the following descriptions.

1. a comical slang euphemism for the ―drunk‖ in which the first letter is ―s‖ and the
fourth letter is ―k‖, it has six letters.
2. A euphemism for ―lavatory‖ that consists of 8 letters, the first letter being ―r‖.
3. A funny euphemism for ―trousers‖ spelt with a hyphen.
4. A euphemism for ―pregnant‖ ending in ―ing‖ and having 9 letters.

III. Study the list of frequently used euphemisms (See APPENDIX Unit 4).
Write out the synonyms in groups.

IV. Find the euphemistic substitutes for the following words: die, drunk, prison,
mad, liar, devil, lavatory, god, eat, pregnant, stupid. Write them out into
two columns: A. euphemistic substitutes for social taboos.
B. euphemistic substitutes for superstitious taboos.

V. Find the euphemisms in the following sentences and jokes. Name the words
for which they serve as euphemistic substitutes.
Po1iceman (to intoxicated man who is trying to fit his key to a lamp-post): I'm afraid
there's nobody home there tonight. Man: Mus' be. Mus' be. Theresh a light upstairsh.
2. "Johnny, where do you think God is this morning?" asked the Sunday-school
teacher. "In our bathroom," was the reply. "What on earth makes you say that?" asked
the amazed teacher. "Because just before I left I heard pa say, "My Lord! How long
are you going to be in there?" 3. The doctor had an inveterate punster and wit among
his patients. One day he was late in making his rounds, and explained to the
incorrigible humourist that he had stopped to attend a man who had fallen down a
well. With a groan of agony, the wit mustered up strength enough to murmur: "Did
he kickthe bucket, doctor?" 4. A girl was to visit her serviceman brother at a military
hospital. While stopping at the desk of the officer of the day for directions to the pa-
144
tient's ward she asked: "Would you kindly tell me where the powder room is?"
"Miss," the corpsman on duty replied with dignity, "this is a hospital, not an arsenal."
5. First Student: Great Scott! I've forgotten who wrote Ivanhoe. Second Ditto: I'll tell
you if you tell me who the dickens wrote The Tale of Two Cities. 6. So, for the love
of Mike, come across to our table and help things along. 7. He was high and didn't
know what he was saying. 8. "You never know with lunatics," said the young man
chattily. "They don't always look balmy, you know." 9. "But what I mean was, it
sounds more like a rather idiotic kind of hoax. Perhaps some convivial idiot who had
had one over the eight." "Nine? Nine what?" "Nothing — just an expression. I meant
a fellow who was tight." 10. "Funny old thing," said Lily Marbury indulgently.
"Looks half batty to my mind." 11. "I think the fellow's half a loony. He needs some
one to look after him."

Revision ―Euphemisms‖

Variant 1.
1. Analyse the reasons for using the euphemisms given below and classify them
according to the following groups:
a) superstitious taboos (devil - deuce, dickens);
b) social and moral taboos (spit - expectorate, pantaloons – nether garments);
c) the need to soften painful news (to die - to pass away, to be no more);
d) using a learned word which sounds less familiar, hence less offensive (over-
eating - indigestion). Translate them into Russian.
1. To eat - to partake of food, to partake of refreshment, to refresh oneself.
2. To die - to breathe one's last, to depart this life, to pay one's debt to nature, to go
to one's last home, to go the way of all flesh, to kick the bucket, to hop the twig, to
join the majority.
3. Mad - deranged, insane.
4. Cemetery - memorial park, necropolis.
5. Sweat - perspiration.
6.God - Dear me! Oh, my! Good gracious! Golly! Gosh!
2. Compare the following words and sentences and say which of them sound
more politically correct.
1. Poetess - poet.
2. Headmistress - teacher.
3. Airline stewardess - flight attendant.
4. Spaghetti/macaroni - pasta.
5. Customer - guest.
6. The teacher must not be late for his classes. - Teacher must not be late for his
classes.
7. A manager has a duty towards his employees. - A manager has a duty towards
his or her employees.
8. The fall in prices is great news for housewives. - The fall in prices is great
news for consumers/shoppers.
145
9. A mother should never leave her baby in the house, she might hurt herself. -
Parents should never leave their children in the house; they might hurt themselves.

Variant 2.
1. Analyse the reasons for using the euphemisms given below and classify them
according to the following groups
a) superstitious taboos (devil - deuce, dickens);
b) social and moral taboos (spit - expectorate, pantaloons – nether garments);
c) the need to soften painful news (to die - to pass away, to be no more);
d) using a learned word which sounds less familiar, hence less offensive (over-
eating - indigestion). Translate them into Russian.
1. Foolish - unwise.
2. God - Dear me! Oh, my! Good gracious! Golly! Gosh!
3. Trousers - inexpressibles, inexplicables, indescribables, unmen
tionables, unwhisperables, one's mustn't -mention -'ems, one's sit-upons,
sine qua non, drawers, pants.
4. Pawn-shop - loan-office.
5. Pregnant - in the family way, in an interesting (delicate) condition.
6. Toilet - water-closet, retiring room, public comfort station, ladies and gents,
loo.
2. Compare the following words and sentences and say which of them sound
more politically correct.
1. Chairman - chairperson, spokesperson.
2. Cameraman - cameraoperator.
3. Foreman - supervisor.
4. Postman - mail carrier.
5. Authoress/ladywriter - author, writer.
6. What does he want? - What do they want?
7. Man/mankind is polluting the Earth. - Humankind is polluting the Earth.
8. No man has ever done it before. - No one has ever done it before.
9. This is the largest man-made lake in Europe. - This is the largest artificial lake
in Europe.

Self-Assessment Test "Synonyms. Euphemisms"

Variant 1.
1. Choose the correct variant
Two or more words of the same language, belonging to the same part of speech and
possessing one or more identical or nearly identical meanings, are called …
a) antonyms;
b) homonyms;
c) synonyms;
d) euphemisms.
2. Choose the correct variant
The only existing classification system for synonyms was established by ______ …

146
a) Ph. Ph. Fortunatov;
b) L.T. Scherba;
c) LA. Beaudouin de Courteney;
d) V.V. Vinogradov.
4. Choose the correct variant
The verbs to stroll - to stride - to trot - to pace - to swagger - to stagger have a
connotation of …
a) manner;
b) duration;
c) attendant circumstances;
d) intensity.
4.Choose the correct variant
Synonyms can be defined in the terms of componential analysis as …
a) words of the same category of parts of speech conveying the same concept but
differing either in shades of meaning or in stylistic characteristics;
b) words which are interchangeable at least in some contexts without any
considerable alteration in denotational meaning;
c) words with the same denotative component, but differing in connotative
component.
5. Match the synonyms with their stylistic connotations
1. girlie a) dialect word
2. damsel b) poetic word
3. lass c) archaic word
4. jane d) colloquial word
5. maiden e) slang word
6. Choose the correct answer
What criterion gives the traditional definition of synonyms?
a) conceptual criterion;
b) semantic criterion;
c) criterion of interchangeability.
7.Choose the correct variant
The synonyms well-known - famous - notorious - celebrated are differentiated in …
a) stylistic connotation;
b) emotive connotation;
c) causative connotation;
d) evaluative connotation.
8. Choose the correct variant
In V. V. Vinogradov's classification system there are …
a) two types of synonyms;
b) three types of synonyms;
c) four types of synonyms;
d) five types of synonyms.
9. Choose the correct variant
A more modern and a more effective approach to the classification of synonyms
may be based on the definition describing synonyms as words differing in …
147
a) shades of meaning;
b) connotations;
c) stylistic characteristics;
d) denotations.
10. Establish correlation between synonyms and their connotations
1. to glare a) with difficulty or strain
2. to peer b) in tenderness, admiration, wonder
3. to stare c) in anger, rage, fury
4. to gaze d) in surprise, curiosity
11. Choose the correct variant
Handsome is associated with…
a) small delicate features and a fresh complexion;
b) classical features and a perfect figure;
c) a tall stature, a certain robustness and fine proportions.
12. Choose all correct variants
The semantic criterion suggests some methods of analyzing synonyms:
a) the definitional analysis;
b) the ideographic analysis;
c) the stylistic analysis;
d) the transformational analysis.
13. Choose the correct variant
Absolute synonyms are words …
a) conveying the same concept but differing in shades of meaning;
b) coinciding in all their shades of meaning and in all their stylistic characteristics;
c) differing in stylistic characteristics.
14. Match numbers with letters
1. to shudder with a) modesty
2. to glitter with b) fear
3. to blush from c) crack
4. to sparkle with d) happiness
5. to peep through e) rage
15. Choose the correct variant
The euphemism "expecting" is used to avoid the social taboo … _______
a) mad;
b) drunk;
c) liar;
d) pregnant.
16. Choose the correct variant
The evaluative connotation can be illustrated by the examples …
a) to produce - to create - to manufacture - to fabricate;
b) to shout - to yell - to bellow - to roar;
c) alone - single - lonely – solitary;
d) to satisfy - to please - to content - to delight - to exalt.
17. Choose the correct variant

148
 In the synonymic set to flash - to glisten - to blaze - to shine, the dominant synonym
is … ______________
a) to glisten;
b) to blaze;
c) to shine;
d) to flash.
18. Choose the correct variant
In the group to tremble - to shiver - to shudder - to shake, the verb to shudder is
frequently associated with the emotion of …
a) fear, horror, disgust;
b) the cold;
c) anger, hatred.
19. Choose the correct variant
To shatter means …
a) to break anything hard with a sudden sharp blow without separating;
b) to break into fragments, particles and in numerous directions;
c) to destroy, to break thoroughly to pieces with a crashing sound.
20. Establish the type of these synonyms: to cry - to weep - to sob
a) absolute;
b) ideographic.
21. Match the words with their euphemisms
1. to die
2. lavatory a) the black one
3. mad b) to check out
4. devil c)water-closet
d) nutty
22. Fill in the blanks with the missing word:
The ___________ component is the component of meaning signifying or identifying
the notion or the object and reflecting some essential features of the notion named.
23. Fill in the blanks with the missing word
At present ___________ is an object of controversy.
24. Fill in the blanks with the missing word
Writers use the euphemisms for comical ___________
25. Fill in the blanks with the missing word
The definitional analysis may be studied with the help of their__________ from
various dictionaries.
26. Fill in the blanks with the missing word
Words in every language which people avoid are called __________
27. Fill in the blanks with the missing word
People use euphemisms to avoid social and _________ taboos.

28. Fill in the blanks with the missing word

The dominant synonym is a_____________ word whose meaning is equal to the
denotation common to all the synonymic group.
29. Fill in the blanks with the missing word
149
Euphemisms are substitutes for indecent,_______ , rude and impolite words.
30. Fill in the blanks with the missing word
The verbs to sparkle, to glitter have the evaluative and_____connotations.

Variant 2
1. Choose the correct variant
Synonymy at present is an object of ...
a) controversy;
b) public discussion;
c) discord.
2. Choose the correct variant
According to the conceptual criterion synonyms are ...
a) words of the same category of parts of speech, conveying the same
concept but differing in shades of meaning or in stylistic characteristics;
b) words with the same denotation, but differing in connotations;
c) words which are identical in sound and spelling but different in their
meaning;
d) words which are interchangeable in some context without any
considerable alteration in denotational meaning.
3. Choose the correct variant
The only existing classification system for synonyms was established by...
a) professor A.I. Smirnitsky;
b) professor V.D. Arakin;
c) professor V.K. Muller;
d) academician V.V. Vinogradov.
4. Choose the correct variant
In terms of componential analysis synonyms may be defined as ...
a) Words which represent the same category of parts of speech and have
the same paradigm;
b) Words of the same category of parts of speech conveying the same
concept but differing either in shades of meaning or its stylistic
characteristics;
c) Words with the same denotation, or the same denotative component,
but differing in connotations;
d) Words which belong to the same category of parts of speech, their
paradigms have one identical form.
5. Choose the correct variant
According to the famous Russian scholar's classification system for synonyms there
are three types of synonyms ...
a) ideographic, perfect, simple;
b) ideographic, absolute, stylistic;
c) perfect, stylistic, absolute;
d)absolute, stylistic, simple.
6. Match numbers with letters:
1) to sparkle with a) indignation;
150
 2) celebrated b) swindler;
3) to glitter with c) singer;
4) notorious d) shame;
5) to redden from e) anger;
6) to blush from f) amusement;
7. Choose the correct variant
A more modern and a more effective approach to the classification of
synonyms may be based on the definition describing synonyms as words differing in
...
a) denotation;
b) stylistic characteristics;
c) shades of meaning;
d) connotations.
8. Choose the correct variant
The criterion of interchangeability defines synonyms as ...
a) Words with the same denotative component, but differing in
connotations;
b) Words of different categories of parts of speech which have one identical form in
their paradigm;
c) Words which are interchangeable in some context without any considerable
alteration in denotational meaning;
d) Words of the same category of parts of speech conveying the same concept but
differing either in the shades of meaning or in stylistic characteristics.
9. Choose the correct variant
Ideographic synonyms are ...
a) Words coinciding in all their shades of meaning and in all their stylistic
characteristics;
b) Words with the same denotative component but differing in
connotations;
c) Words conveying the same concept but differing in shades of
meaning.
10. Match numbers with letters:
1) to shudder with a)classical features;
2) to peep through b) fog;
3) to shiver with c) horror;
4) pretty is associated with d)small delicate features
5) to peer through
6) beautiful is associated with e) hole;
f) cold;
11. Choose all correct variants:
The verbs to peer and to peep are differentiated by connotation of duration and ...
a) connotation of attendant circumstances;
b) stylistic connotations;
c) connotation of manner;
d) connotation of degree.
151
 12. Choose the correct variant:
The synonym which has broad general meaning, high frequency of usage, broad
combinability, lack of connotations is called ...
a) absolute;
b) dominant;
c) ideographic.
13. Choose the correct variant:
Combinability is ...
a) ability to be used in combinations with various classes of words;
b) ability to have more than one meaning;
c) ability of interchangeability in some contexts;
d) the process of word-building.
14. Choose the correct variant:
In the synonymic row bite- snap- snack- repast- refreshment- feast the dominant
synonym is ...
a) bite;
b) snack;
c) refreshment;
d) repast;
e) feast.
15. Match words with their definitions:
1) to shiver a) to walk slowly, lazily for pleasure;
2) beautiful b) to look steadily, lastingly in surprise;
3) to stare c) to tremble with cold;
4) notorious d) a special type of human beauty,
with classical features
5)to stroll e) widely known for criminal acts
16. Choose the correct variant:
The verbs to be off, to clear out, to beat it, to take the air are examples of synonyms
which are differentiated by ...
a) connotation of duration;
b) connotation of manner;
c) connotation of attendant circumstances;
d) stylistic connotation;
e) connotation of degree;
17. Choose the correct variant:
Absolute synonyms are ...
a) words coinciding in all their shades of meaning and in all their stylistic
characteristics;
b) words which have broad general meaning, broad combinability, lack of
connotation, high frequency of usage;
c) words of the same category of parts of speech, conveying the same concept but
differing in shades of meaning;
words differing in stylistic characteristics.
18. Choose the correct variant:
152
In the group to tremble- to shiver- to shudder- to shake, the verb to shudder is
frequently associated with the emotion of ...
a) horror, disgust, fear;
b) anger, indignation, rage;
c) merriment, good humor, happiness.
19. Choose the correct variant:
Writers use the euphemisms for ...
a) educational purposes;
b) comical purposes;
c) informational purposes.
20. Choose the correct variant
There are two types of euphemisms in English they are ...
a) Euphemisms used to avoid social taboos and euphemisms used to avoid
superstitious taboos;
b) ideographic and stylistic.
21. Match the words with their euphemisms:
1) devil a) to retire
2) to go to bed b) tipsy
3) drunk c) w.c.
4) lavatory d) Prince of darkness
22. Choose the correct variant:
The synonyms to stare- to glare- to gaze have in their semantic structure a
connotation of...
a) duration;
b) degree or intensity;
c) attendant circumstances;
d) attendant features.
23. Choose the correct variant:
Euphemisms are substitutes for ...
a) professional terminology;
b) archaic words;
c) learned words;
d) historisms;
e) Indecent, indelicate, rude and impolite words.
24. Choose the correct variant:
Stylistic synonyms are ...
a) words conveying the same concept but differing in shades of meaning;
b) words differing in stylistic characteristics;
c) words coinciding in all their stylistic characteristics;
d) words of the same category of parts of speech which are identical only in their
corresponding forms.
25. Choose the correct variant:
In the synonymic row to astonish- to surprise- to amaze- to astound the dominant
synonym is ...
a) to astound;
153
b) to astonish;
c) to surprise;
d) to amaze.
26. Choose the correct variant:
Euphemisms used as substitutes for the adjective "pregnant" are ...
a) Tipsy, mellow, fresh, high, overcome;
b) Cuckoo, nutty, loony, having bats in one's belfry;
c) With a baby coming, expecting, in the family way;
d) Unmentionables, inexpressibles, indescribables;
27. Choose the correct variant:
The synonyms to shout- to yell- to bellow- to roar are differentiated by ...
a) stylistic connotation;
b) connotation of duration;
c) connotation of degree;
d) emotive connotation.
28. Match the words with their euphemisms:
1) pregnant; a) By Heavens!
2) God; b) Jug;
3) Prison; c) Expecting;
4) To die; d) You- mustn't- mention'ems;
5) Trousers; e) To kick the bucket;
29. Choose the correct variant:
In the group of words "to make -to produce -to create -to fabricate -to manufacture"
the dominant synonym is ....
a) to produce;
b) to create;
c) to fabricate;
d) to make.
30. Choose the correct variant:
Euphemistic substitutes for the word "mad" are ...
a) tipsy;
b)insane
c) mellow;
d) nutty.
Variant 3

1.Choose the correct variant

There are three criteria of synonymy, they are:
a) the conceptual criterion, the phonetic criterion, the criterion of
interchangeability;
b) the conceptual criterion, the semantic criterion, the criterion of
interchangeability;
c) the syntactic criterion, the semantic criterion, the criterion of
interchangeability.
2. Complete the synonymic row:
154
To satisfy - to please - to delight - to gratify - to exalt -...
a) to adore;
b) to astound;
c) to content;
d) to bellow;
e) to peep.
3. Match numbers with letters:
1. to blush from a) cold
2. to peep through b) shame
3. to glitter with c) singer
4. to shiver with d) anger
5. celebrated e) hole.
4.Choose the correct variant:
In V.V.Vinogradov's classification system there are three types of synonyms:
a) stylistic, absolute and perfect;
b) ideographic, stylistic and absolute;
c) ideographic, absolute and perfect.
5. Complete the sentence:
The verbs to peep and to peer are differentiated by connotations of duration and ...
a) degree;
b) stylistic;
c) emotive;
d) evaluative;
e) manner.
6.Match numbers with letters:
1 .To break a) to break anything hard with a sudden sharp
blow without separating
2. To creak b) to break into fragments;
З. То shatter c) to separate into parts.
7.Choose the dominant synonym in the following row:
To flash - to blaze - to gleam - to shine - to sparkle
a) to flash;
b) to blaze;
c) to shine
8. Match the criteria with the appropriate definition of synonyms:
1. semantic a) synonyms are words of the same
category of parts of speech conveying
the same concept but differing either
in shades of meaning or in stylistic characteristics
2. interchangeability b) synonyms are words with the same denotation, but
differing in connotations;
3. conceptual c) synonyms are words which are interchangeable at least
in contexts without any considerable
alteration in denotational meaning.
9. Match numbers with letters:
155
1.to be sure a)often
2.advantages b) to be certain
3. use c) dispute
4. frequently . d) merits
5. controversy e)apply.
10. Complete the synonymic row:
To like - to admire - to worship - to adore
a) to delight;
b) to love;
c) to glance;
d) to pace
e) to content.
11. Complete the sentence:
The verbs to sparkle, to glitter have the emotive and ....
a) evaluative connotations;
b) causative connotations;
c) stylistic connotations.
12. Match the types of synonyms with their definitions
1. ideographic a) differing in stylistic characteristics;
2. stylistic b) coinciding in all their shades of meaning
and in all their stylistic characteristics;
3.absolute c) words conveying the same concept but
differing in shades of meaning.
13. Choose synonyms differentiated by connotation of manner:
a) to shout - to yell - to roar;
b) to stare - to glare - to gaze;
c) well-known - famous - celebrated;
d) alone - single - lonely;
e) to produce - to create - to fabricate.
14. Complete the sentence:
...- a "central" word whose meaning is equal to the denotation common to all the
synonymic group.
a) absolute synonym;
b) dominant synonym.
15. Choose the dominant synonym in the following row:
To produce - to make - to create - to fabricate - to manufacture,
a) to produce;
b) to make;
c) to create;
d) to fabricate;
e) to manufacture.
16. Match numbers with letters:
1. malice a) manner of walking;
2. robustness b) cherish vindictive feelings;
3. gait c) secret procedure;
156
4. stealth d) hilarious enjoyment;
5. merriment e) health.
17.Match words with their definitions;
1. to cry a)to cry desperately with convulsive;
2. to sob b) to shed tears more or less silently;
3. to weep c) to express grief or pain by audible
18. Single out synonyms with emotive connotations:
a) fear - terror - horror;
b) look - stare - glare - gaze - glance;
c) wish - desire - yearn - long;
d) alone - single - solitary - lonely;
e) love - admire - adore - worship.
19. Match the connotations with the following words:
1. connotation of degree a) alone - single - lonely - solitary;
2. connotation of duration b) to shout - to yell - to bellow - to roar;
3. emotive connotation c) well-known - famous - notorious –
celebrated;
4. evaluative connotation d) to blush - to redden;
5. causative connotation e) to say - to speak - to talk.
20. Match the words with their euphemisms:
1. to go to bed a) lower extremities;
2. legs b) to kick the bucket;
3. drunk c) to retire;
4. devil d) tipsy;
5. to die e) deuce.
21. Choose the correct variant
The word "lavatory" produced such euphemisms as ....
a) under the influence, tipsy, mellow;
b) to pass away, to be taken, to kick of;
c) comfort station, water-closet, powder room;
d) not all there , insane, not right;
e) to partake of food, to refresh oneself, to break bread.
22. Match the words with their euphemisms:
1. Pregnant a) jug;
2. trousers b) loony;
3.prison c) in a delicate condition;
4.mad d) sit-upons.
23. Choose the superstitious taboos:
a) devil;
b) prison;
c) God;
d) die;
e) eat.
24. Choose the correct euphemism for the word "to retire":
a) in the family way;
157
b) sit-upons;
c) overcome;
d) to go to bed;
e) chokey.
25. Choose the correct variant:
… taboos are words denoting evil spirits, dangerous animals or the powers of nature.
a) superstitious;
b) social.
26. Choose the correct euphemisms for the word "to die":
a) intoxicated, under the influence, tanked;
b) to depart this life, to check out, to take a ride;
c) expecting, with child, in the family way;
d) to hop the twig, to kick off, to pass away;
e) sit-upons, inexpressibles, unmentionables.
27. Choose the correct variant
The denotation of the verbs "to stare, to glare, to glance, to peer, to peep, to gaze" is
...
a) to watch;
b) to see;
c) to look;
d) to notice.
28. Choose the correct variant:
The group of verbs "to stroll-to stride- to trot- to pace- to swagger- to stagger- to
stumble" has the ...
a) causative connotation;
b) stylistic connotation;
c) connotation of attendant circumstances;
d) connotation of manner.
29. Choose all correct statements
a) "Terror" is the dominant synonym of the group "terror-horror-fear"
b) "to shout" is the dominant synonym of the group "to yell-to roar-to shout-to
bellow"
c) "to shiver" is the dominant synonym of the group "to shake -to shiver- to tremble-
to shudder"
d) "angry" is the dominant synonym of the group "furious-enraged-angry"
30. Choose the correct variant
There are two types of euphemisms. The first is used to avoid ...taboos,
another one to avoid ... taboos.
a) cynical and rough;
b) evasive and superstitious;
c) social and superstitious;
d) social and comical.

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 Lecture 19. Antonyms

Exercises

I. Give English equivalents to the following words and word groups. Use the
lecture
Семантическое поле, дистрибуция, передавать понятие (другими словами),
противоположное по значению понятие, противоречивое понятие, взаимно
противопоставлять друг другу, рассматривать с разных точек зрения.

II. Find 15 pairs of antonyms:

definite, ever, full, all, heat, possible, fall, back, thick, alone, fire, seldom, light,
together, cold, often, dark, indefinite, pull, earth, front, water, empty, never, nothing,
rise, impossible, thin, sky, push

III.Like synonyms, antonyms occupy an important place in the phraseological

fund of the English vocabulary. Translate phraseological units given bellow into
Russian.
more or less; back and forth; flux and reflux; likes and dislikes; blow hot and cold;
the pros and cons; be bought and sold; more dead than alive; through thick and thin;
fair without, false within; a big frog in a little pond; penny wise and pound foolish;
catch a shadow and lose a substance.

IV. Find antonyms in these "familiar quotations'' based on contrasts and

oppositions.
1. 'Advice is like castor oil, easy enough to give but dreadful uneasy to take (J.
Billings).
2. Cheerfulness is health; its opposite, melancholy, is disease (T.Ch. Haliburton).
3. The political machine works because it is a united minority acting against a
divided majority (W. Durant).
4. Silence is deep as Eternity,
5. Speech is shallow as Time (T. Carlyle).
6. In a country well governed poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country
badly governed wealth is something to be ashamed of (Confucius).
7. One loses today and wins tomorrow (L. Hellman).
8. You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance (R. Bradbury).
9. Absence diminishes little passions and increases great ones, as wind
extinguishes candles and fans a fire (La Rochefoucauld).
10.Grief knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can, and common
suffering is a far stronger link than common joy (A. de Lamartine).

V. The use of antonymic pairs by poets creates emotional tension, makes the
lines very expressive. What words of opposite meanings are employed by Ella
Wheeler Wilcox in this poem?

159
LIFTING AND LEANING
There are two kinds of people on earth today;
Just two kinds of people, no more, I say.
Not the sinner and saint, for it is well understood,
The good are half bad, and the bad are half good.
Not the rich and the poor, for to rate a man's wealth,
You must first know the state of his conscience and health.
Not the humble and proud, for in life's little span,
Who puts on vain airs, is not counted a man.
Not the happy and sad, for the swift flying years
Bring each man his laughter and each man his tears.
No; the two kinds of people on earth I mean,
Are the people who lift, and the people who lean.
Wherever you go, you will find the earth's masses
Are always divided in just these two classes.
And, oddly enough, you will find too, I ween,
There's only one lifter to twenty who lean.
In which class are you? Are you easing the load
Of overtaxed lifters, who toil down the road?
Or are you a leaner, who lets others share
Your portion of labor, and worry and care?

VI.Give derivational antonyms to the following:

1. underestimate, v
2. powerful, adj
3. uniform, adj
4. forethought, n
5. godly, adj
6. wrap, v
7. benevolent, adj
8. overcharge, v
9. bilateral, adj
10. postdate, v
11. needless, adj
12. employee, n
13. profitable, adj
14.convergence, n

VII. Establish the types of these antonyms:

a) antonyms indicating place;
b)antonyms indicating time;
c)antonyms indicating direction;
d) antonyms indicating shape;
e)antonyms indicating quantity;
f)antonyms indicating quality.
160
1. undergarment - overgarment
2. pre-war - post-war
3. narrow - wide
4. monomorphic - polymorphic
5. chivalrous - cowardly
6. smooth - uneven
7. inwards - outwards
8. glorify - defame
9. local - national
10.shortage - abundance

VIII. In these 'familiar quotations": 1) find the antonyms; 2) identify their

types:
a)contrary;
b)contradictory;
c)conversive;
d)vectorial
1. To find the fault is easy; to do better may be difficult (Plutarch).
2. Rivalry is the life of trade, and the death of the trader (E. Hubbard).
3. Some people say that a wife can ruin her husband if she doesn't give him
stability in the home (Eleonor Roosevelt).
4. Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall
(O. Goldsmith).
5. It takes less time to do thing right than it does to explain why you did it wrong
(H.W. Longfellow).
6. No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious (G.B.
Shaw).
7. To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be
forty years old (O.W. Holmes).
8. I divide all readers into two classes: those who read to remember and those who
read to forget (E. Phelps).
9. A small leak will sink a great ship (B. Franklin).
10. I guess the only way to stop divorce is to stop marriage (W. Rogers).
11. If parents could only realize how they bore their children! (G.B. Shaw).
12. Purity is the feminine, truth the masculine of honor (A.W. Hare).
13. Better make a weak man your enemy than your friend (J. Billings).
14. Be slow of tongue and quick of eye (S.M. Servantes).
15. The absent are never without fault. Nor the present without excuse (B. Franklin).
16. Be nice to people on your way up because you‘ll meet them on your way down
(W. Mizner).
17. Some say that by the nature of the world there is an opposition between good and
evil and that each is metaphysically necessary to the other (W.S. Maugham).
18. In all things it is better to hope than to despair (J.W. Goethe).
19. As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of
democracy (A. Lincoln).
161
20. Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet (J.J. Rousseau).
21. It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer (W.
Blackstone).
22. An angry man opens his mouth and shuts up his eyes (M.P. Cato).
23. Any subject can be made interesting, and therefore any subject can be made
boring (H. Belloc).
24. Neither a borrower nor a lender be... (W. Shakespeare).
25. There are some defeats more triumphant than victories (M.E. Montaigne).

IX. Find antonyms in the sentences and translate them into Russian.
1. It strikes to the heart of all life, animate and inanimate (Th. Dreiser).
2. The Thomas family got poor and the Dalton family got rich (R. Wright).
3. I don't want to hear about what they like or dislike, or what they do or don't do, or
what they encourage or discourage (J. Grisham).
4. Such passions are not virtues, but the most unnatural of all the vices (B. Shaw).
5. He was somewhat casual about his hours at the office, being dilatory in both arrival
and departure on many occasions, but he accomplished much while there (J.B.
Carroll).
6. His mind is a mature, not an immature one (Th. Dreiser).
7. It is quite absurd to say that a man is good or bad - he is good and bad (E.
Hubbard).
8. The departure of trains saddened him very much, but the arrival of them gladdened
him...

X. Match the contronyms from the first column and their definitions in the
second column. Set I deals with noun contronyms, Set II - with verbs
Set I
1. handicap a) "required activity without exception" -
2. model ―an optional course of action‖
3. policy b)"a disadvantage" - "an advantage (in
4. quiddity golf)"
5. siren c) "a seductive sound" - "a harsh sound"
6. temper d) "calmness" - "passion"
e) "the essential nature of a thing" - "a trifling point"
f)"an archetype" - "a copy"
Set II
1. consult a) "to put covering (usually clothes) on"
2. cork "to take covering (usually skin) off
3. dress b) "to establish" - "to remove"
4. root c) "to colour" - "to discolour"
5. stain d) "to take out" - "to insert"
6. trip e) "to stumble" - "to move gracefully"
f)"to ask for advice" - "to give advice

162
XI. In these sentences, the contronyms are used in different (opposite) meanings.
Match each sentence and the meaning of the contronym realized in it.
1. 1) The aircraft dusted the fields.
2) Have you dusted this room?
a) "to cover with dust or powder"
b) "to remove dust from"
2. 1) A fast horse runs.
2) A fast colour does not run.
a) "moving or able to move quickly"
b) "firmly fixed and unlikely to move or change"
3.1) It was his custom to get up early and have a cold bath.
2)It is difficult to get used to another country's customs.
a) "an established and habitual practice that is typical of a group of people"
b) "the habitual practice of a person"
4. 1)Come with me.
2)Hannibal fought with the Romans.
a) "alongside, in the company of"
b) "against"
5. 1)She trimmed the dress with lace.
2)Trim the pastry round the edge.
a) "to remove from"
b) "to add to"
6. 1)Their affluence is more apparent than real.
2)The solution to the problem was apparent to all.
a) "not clear or certain"
b) "obvious"
7.1) She has the oversight of the works.
2)My failure to check the figures was simply an oversight.
a) "a failure to notice things"
b) "a duty to notice things"
8.1) The glass snapped into pieces.
2)The pieces snapped together.
a) "to break into pieces"
b) "to fasten together"
9. 1)The king gave his sanction
2) They imposed sanctions on the warring parties.
a) ―disapproval and punishment‖
b) ―permission and approval‖

XII. Find antonyms for the words given below.

Good, adj.; deep, adj.; narrow, adj., clever, adj.; young, adj.; to love, v.; to reject, v.;
to give, v.; strong, adj.; to laugh, v.; joy, n.; evil, n.; up, adv., slowly, adj.; black, adj.;
sad, adj.; to die, v.; to open, v.; clean, adj.; darkness, n.; big, adj.

163
 Revision "Antonyms"
Variant 1.
1. Give derivational antonyms to the words.
Just, use (adj), fortune, gratitude, like (adj), moved, relative, arrange (v).

2. Change the sentences so that they express the contrary meaning by

using antonyms. State whether they are absolute or derivational.
1. All the seats were occupied. 2. He always wore striped shirts with attached
collars. 3. The room was lighted by the strong rays of the sun. 4. He added three
hundred to the sum. 5. I came in while you were asleep. 6. A lamp is a necessary
thing in this room.
3. Point out antonyms indicating place, direction, time, quality, and quantity
from the pairs of antonyms given below, translate them into Russian. Use these
antonyms in sentences of your own.
inlet - outlet, prerevolutionary — post-revolutionary, uniformity — multiformity,
careless - careful, uptown - downtown.

4. Pick out antonyms from the sentences. Translate the proverbs.

1. After a storm comes a calm. 2. A bad beginning makes a bad ending. 3. Be swift
to hear, slow to speak. 4. Better a glorious death than a shameful life. 5. Better a witty
fool than a foolish wit. 6. Drunkenness reveals what soberness conceals.

Variant 2.
1. Give derivational antonyms to the words.
Justice, use (n), fortunate, grateful, like (v), movable, related, complete (v).

2. Change the sentences so that they express the contrary meaning by

using antonyms. State whether they are absolute or derivational.
1. The door was closed and locked. 2. Light curtains hung on the dining-room
windows, therefore it was light. 3. In the second year of their residence the company
seemed especially to increase. 4. The little boy was outside the car. 5. Food and water
were scarce during the long summer. 6. He drew two crooked lines.

3. Point out antonyms indicating place, direction, time, quality, and

quantity from the pairs of antonyms given below, translate them into
Russian. Use these antonyms in sentences of your own.

Useful - useless, polysyllabic - monosyllabic, forethought - afterthought, upstairs -

downstairs, underclothes – overclothes.

4. Pick out antonyms from the sentences. Translate the proverbs.

1. Faults are thick when love is thin. 2. He who laughs at crooked men, should
need to walk very straight. 3. A joke never gains an enemy, but often loses a friend.
4. Keep your mouth shut and your ears open. 5. One law for the rich, and another for
the poor. 6. That which was bitter to endure may be sweet to remember.
164
 UNIT 5. VARIANTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Lecture 20. The Main Variants of the English Language

Vocabulary

descent - the origin or background of a person in terms of family or nationality

with a tease
divergence – a difference in opinions, interests
exposure to – the state of having no protection from something
prevalent - 1. widespread or current 2.superior in force or power; predominant
intelligibility – ability to be understood
pejorative – expressing contempt or disapproval:
arduous – difficult, hard
tension – the feeling caused by a lack of trust between people, groups, or countries
who do not agree about something and may attack each other

I. Study lecture 20 and answer the following questions

1.What does the term ―Standard English‖ mean? 2. What is the difference between
the terms ―variants‖ and ―local dialects‖ of the English language? 3. What variant of
English is considered to be Standard English? 4.What variants of English exist on the
territory of the United Kingdom? 5. Why do Scottish English and Irish English have
a special linguistic status and cannot be referred to as dialects? 6.What are the main
distinctive features of Scottish English? 7. What are the main peculiarities of Irish
English? 8. What variants of the English language outside the British Isles can be
singled out? 9. What does Canadian English have in common with a) American
English b) British English? What does the term ―Canadianisms‖ denote? 10. What
varieties of the English language does Australian English have close ties with? What
are the main peculiarities of Australian English? 11. What are the main distinctive
features of New Zealand English? 12. Where is South African English spoken? What
variants of English and other languages does South African English have close links
with and why? What are the peculiarities of the vocabulary of South African
English?13. What is meant by the term ―Indian English‖? What peculiarities are
characteristic of this variant of the English language?

Practicum
I. Match the italicized Scottish English words from the sentences with the
corresponding Standard English words given in the box.
Model: She devoted her anam to helping others.
The corresponding Standard English word to the Scottish English word anam is life.
She devoted her life to helping others.

Knot, conversation, packet, hole, journey, life, window, stone,

knowledge, dignity, coffee
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1.I‘ve heard you visited several European countries last summer. Did you like your
turus? 2. Why did you throw an artan at the dog? It could bite you. 3. Ann faced the
news of the catastrophe with onoir. 4. Can you tie a snaim in the end of my thread? 5.
Don‘t open the uinneag. You can catch a cold. 6. Do you take sugar in your ulim? 7.
A pasgan of brochures arrived in the post.8. The teacher‘s comments are designed to
improve your fios and understanding. 9. Later in the evening, the caig turned to
politics. 10. She devoted her anam to helping others.

II. Read and analyze the extract taken from R.Burns’ poem The Vision (1786)
Using the glossary given below the extract. Speak on the uniqueness and bright
expressiveness of Scottish English. Translate this extract.

The sun had clos‘d the winter day,

The curless quat their roarin play.
And hinger‘d maukin taen her way,
To kail-yards green,
While faithless snaws ilk step betray
Whare she has been

The thresher‘s weary flingin-tree,

The lee-lang day had tired me;
And when the day had clos‘d his e‘e,
Far i‘the west.
Ben i‘the spence right pensivelie,
I gaed to rest

There, lanely by the ingle-cheek,

I sat and ey‘d the spewing reek,
That fill‘d wi‘hoast-provoking smeek,
The auld clay biggin;
An neard the restless rattons squek
About the riggin

All in this mottie, mistyclime,

I backward mus‘d on wasted time,
How I had spent my youthfu‘prime.
An‘d done nae thing,
But stringing blethers up in rhyme.
For fools to sing.

Had I to guid advice but harkit,

I might, by this, hae led a market,

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Or strutted in a bank a clarkit
My cash-account;
While here, half mad, half-fed, half-sarkit
Is a th‘amount

Glossary:
1. quat – quitted, maukin – a hare, taen – taken, kail -yard – a kitchen garden,
snaus – snow, ilk, ilka – each,every; whar, whare – where
2.flingin-tree – a piece of timber hung by way of partition, lee-lang – live-long, i‘ –
in, ben – a parlor (the inner apartment); into the parlor, spence – the parlor, gaed –
went;
3. lane – alone, ingle-cheek – fireside (the jamb of the fireplace), reek – smoke, wi’-
with, hoast – cough, smeek – smoke, auld – old, biggin – building, an‘ – and, rattan,
rattoon – a rat, riggin – the roof-tree, the roof.
4.mottie – dusty, blethers – nonsense;
5.guid – good, harkit – hearkened, hae – have, clarkit – wrote, a’ – all.

III. Replace the italicized Irish words with Standard English words from the
box.
Model: Will you sit on the tolg, please, and wait for Peter coming
The Irish word tolg can be replaced by the Standard English word sofa. Will you sit
on the sofa, please, and wait for Peter coming.
Noise, basket, choice, thorn, distress, sofa, rag, while, friend, wall,
steam

1.I‘ll have to stop for a minute – I must have a dealg in my foot. 2. Wait till you see
the gal off the kettle and then wet (pour boiling water on) the tea. 3. There is always
some cruatan or other in that family – what is with them? 4. There was a trup outside
the door. 5. I haven‘t seen him for a tamall. 6. He drove straight through the falla
with the new car last night. 7. Where did you find that old balcais? 8. Get me a scib
of turf for the fire. 9. Helga is a close cara of mine. 10.These people have the togha
of whether to buy a house or rent one. 11. Will you sit on the tolg, please, and wait
for Peter coming.

IV. Read the poem written by one of the most famous and distinguished Irish
poets – Seamus Heaney. Discuss the following questions:
1. What stereotype of Irishmen does this poem contain? 2. How does the poem
explore ideas of heritage and family tradition? 3. In what way is the central extended
metaphor of digging and roots revealed? 4. What does the poem suggest about
physical labour? 5. What is the connection between the work done by the poet‘s
ancestors and his own work? Speak about lexical peculiarities of the poem.

Digging
Between my finger and my thumb
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The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.
Under my window, a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground
My father digging. I look down
Till his straining rump among flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.
The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked.
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.
By god, the old man could handle a spade.
Just like his old man.
My grandfather cut more turf in a day
Than any other man on Toner‘s bog.
Once I carried him milk in a bottle
Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up
To drink it, then fell to right away
Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods
Over his shoulder, going down and down
For the good turf. Digging.
The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I‘ve no spade to follow men like them.
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I‘ll dig with it.

Glossary: squat – short and fat, snug – comfortably, rasping – scraping, rump –
backside, potato drills – holes where the potatoes will be planted, lug – the projecting
part of the spade, his old man – his father, fell to right way – began working
immediately after, sods – pieces of peat, mould – fungus that grows on potatoes,
squelch – sucking sound, curt – abrupt, sharp.

Lecture 21. Do Americans Speak English or American?

Exercises
I. Study lecture 21 and fill in the blanks with the missing words
1. Americanisms are words which belong to American … exclusively and constitute
its specific feature. 2. Historical Americanisms are words which still retain their old
meaning in … English whereas they have changed their meanings in …English. 3.
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The Americans and the English use these Americanisms in … meanings. 4. The
examples of historical Americanisms are: fall, sick, guess, homely and … . 5. The old
meaning of the noun ―fall‖ was … . 6. The verb ― …‖ has the old meaning ―to think‖
and the adjective ―sick‖ has the old meaning … . 7. ―Homely‖ in Britain means …
and ―… ‖ means ―breakfast‖ while in the USA ―homely‖ means … and … means
―any time of taking meal‖. 8. … Americanisms are found both in American and in
British vocabularies. 9. Proper Americanisms are words which denote the realia of …
life. 10. Proper Americanisms are words which one is not likely to discover in
British … . 11.The examples of proper Americanisms are: cold snap (a sudden … ),
sweet potato (a plant with sweet edible … ), …. (wooded uninhabited districts), blue
–grass (― a sort of …peculiar to North America) and … (an American tree having
small budlike pink flowers, the state tree of Oklahoma). 12. Proper Americanisms are
represented by names of … which are called differently in the USA and in England.
13. The examples of such Americanisms are: the British ―chemist‘s is called … in the
USA, the American word … has its British equivalent ―sweets‖, ―railway‘ in Britain
is called … in the USA, American counterparts of British words ― luggage‖ and ―
underground‖ are ―…‖ and ― …‖ .
Druggist‘s, vocabulary (2), historical, old, something rather pleasant, frost, candy,
grass, railroad, American (2), lunch (3), backwoods, subway, British, autumn,
redbud, to guess, not very good looking, objects, baggage, different, unwell.

II. Questions for discussion

1. In what different ways might the language spoken in the USA be viewed
linguistically?
2. What are the peculiarities of the vocabulary of English spoken in the USA?
3. Can we say that the vocabulary of the language spoken in the USA supports the
hypothesis that there is an "American language"? Give a detailed answer.
4. What are the grammatical peculiarities of the American variety of English?
5. Describe some of the phonetic divergencies in both varieties of English.

Practicum
I. Read the following extract and give more examples illustrating the same
group of Americanisms. What do we call this group?
M: — Well, now, homely is a very good word to illustrate Anglo-American
misunderstanding. At any rate, many funny stories depend on it, like the one about
the British lecturer visiting the United States; he faces his American audience and
very innocently tells them how nice it is to see so many homely faces out in the audi-
ence.
Homely in Britain means, of course, something rather pleasant, but in American
English 'not very good looking'. This older sense is preserved in some British
dialects.
(From A Common Language by A. H. Marckwardt and R. Quirk)

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IV. Read the following extract. What are the three possible ways of creating names
for new species of plants and animals and new features of the landscape? Give more
examples of thé same. What do we call this group of Americanisms?
Q: ... I think that this time we ought to give some attention to those parts of the
language where the differences in the vocabulary are much more noticeable.
M: Yes, we should. First, there are what we might call the 'realia' — the real things
— the actual things we refer to in the two varieties of the language. For example, the
flora and fauna — that is to say the plants and animals of England and of the United
States are by no means the same, nor is the landscape, the topography.
Q: All this must have created a big problem for those early settlers, mustn't it?
M: It surely did. From the very moment they set foot on American soil, they had to
supply names for these new species of plants and animals, the new features of
landscape that they encountered. At times they made up new words such as
mockingbird, rattlesnake, eggplant. And then occasionally they used perfectly famil-
iar terms but to refer to different things. In the United States, for example, the robin is
a rather large bird, a type of thrush.
Q: Yes, whereas with us it is a tiny little red-breasted bird.
M: And a warbler, isn't it? Q: Yes.
M: It sings. Corn is what you call maize. We never use it for grain in general, or
for wheat in particular.
Q: Or oats. Well, wouldn't foreign borrowings also be important in a situation like
this?
M: Oh, they were indeed. A good many words, for example, were adopted from
the American Indian languages — hickory, a kind of tree, squash, a vegetable;
moccasin, a kind of footwear. We got caribou and prairie from the early French
settlers. The Spanish gave us canyon and bronco.
(From A Common Language by A. H. Marckwardt and R. Quirk)

II. Read the following passage. Draw up a list of terms denoting the University
teaching staff in Great Britain and in the USA. What are the corresponding
Russian terms?
Q: But speaking of universities, we've also got a different set of labels for the
teaching staff, haven't we?
M: Yes, in the United States, for example, our full time faculty, which we call staff
incidentally — is arranged in a
series of steps which goes from instructor through ranks of assistant professor,
associate professor to that of professor. But I wish you'd straighten me out on the
English system. Don for example, is a completely mysterious word and I'm never
sure of the difference, say, between a lecturer and a reader.
Q: Well, readers say that lecturers should lecture and readers should read! But
seriously, I think there's more similarity here than one would imagine. Let me say,
first of all, that this word don is a very informal word and that it is common really
only in Oxford and Cambridge. But corresponding to your instructor we've got the
rank of assistant lecturer, usually a beginner's post. The assistant lecturer who is
successful is promoted, like your instructor and he becomes a lecturer and this
170
lecturer grade is the main teaching grade throughout the university world. Above
lecturer a man may be promoted to senior lecturer or reader, and both of these —
there's little difference between them — correspond closely to your associate
professor. And then finally he may get a chair, as we say — that is a professorship,
or, as you would say, a full professorship. It's pretty much a difference of labels
rather than of organization, it seems to me.
(From A Common Language by A. H. Marckwardt and R. Quirk)

III. Give the British equivalents for the following Americanism.

Apartment, store, baggage, street car, full, truck, elevator, candy, corn.

IV. Explain the differences in the meanings of the following words in

American and British English.
Corn, apartment, homely, guess, lunch

V. Identify the etymology of the following words.

Ohio, ranch, squash, mosquito, banjo, toboggan, pickaninny, Mississippi,
sombrero, prairie, wigwam.

VI. Comment on the formation of the following words.

Rattlesnake, foxberry, auto, Americanism, Colonist, addressee, ad, copperhead,
pipe of peace, fire-water.

VII. Translate the following words giving both the British and American
variant.
Каникулы, бензин, осень, консервная банка, радио, трамвай.

VIII. Give the synonyms for the following American shortenings. Describe the
words from the stylistic point of view.
Gym, mo, circs, auto, perm, cert, n. g., b. f., g. m., dorm.

IX. In the following sentences find the examples of words which are
characteristic of American English. State whether they belong to the group of a)
historical Amerianisms; b) proper Americanisms; c) American shortenings; d)
American borrowings. Take note of their spelling peculiarities.
1. As the elevator carried Brett downward, Hank Kreisel closed and locked the
apartment door from inside. 2. A raw fall wind swirled leaves and dust in small
tornadoes and sent pedestrians scurrying for indoor warmth. 3. Over amid the
bungalows a repair crew was coping with a leaky water main. 4. We have also built,
ourselves, experimental trucks and cars which are electric powered. 5. In a plant bad
news/travelled like burning gasoline. 6. May Lou wasn't in; she had probably gone to
a movie. 7. The bank was about equal in size to a neighbourhood drugstore, brightly
lighted and pleasantly designed. 8. Nolan Wainwright walked towards the apartment
building, a three-storey structure probably forty years old and showing signs of
disrepair. He guessed it contained two dozen or so apartments. Inside a vestibule
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Nolan Wainwright could see an array of mail boxes and call buttons. 9. He's a barber
and one of our bird dogs. We had twenty or so regular bird dogs, Smokey revealed,
including service station operators, a druggist, a beauty-parlor operator, and an
undertaker. 10. Barbara put a hand to her hair — chestnut brown and luxuriant, like
her Polish Mother's; it also grew annoyingly fast so she had to spend more time than
she liked in beauty salons. 11. He hadn't had an engineering degree to start, having
been a high school dropout before World War II. 12. Auto companies regularly
invited design school students in, treating them like VIP's, while the students saw for
themselves the kind of aura they might work in later.

XI. Read the following extract. Explain the difference in the meanings of the
italicized words in American and British English.

In America just as in English, you see the same shops with the same boards
and windows in every town and village.
Shopping, however, is an art of its own and you have to learn slowly where to buy
various things. If you are hungry, you go to the chemist's. A chemist's shop is called a
drugstore in the United States. In the larger drugstores you may be able to get drugs,
too, but their main business consists in selling stationery, candy, toys, braces, belts,
fountain pens, furniture and imitation jewellery. You must be extremely careful
concerning the names of certain articles. If you ask for suspenders in a man's shop,
you receive a pair of braces, if you ask for a pair of pants, you receive a pair of
trousers and should you ask for a pair of braces, you receive a queer look.
I should like to mention that although a lift is called an elevator in the United
States, when hitch-hiking you do not ask for an elevator, you ask for a lift. There's
some confusion about the word flat. A flat in America is called an apartment; what
they call a flat is a puncture in your tyre (or as they spell it, tire). Consequently the
notice: 'Flats Fixed' does not indicate an estate agent where they are going to fix you
up with a flat, but a garage where they are equipped to mend a puncture.
(From How to Scrape Skies by G. Mikes)

XII. Read the following passage. Do you share Professor Quirk's opinion about
neutralizing the differences between the two forms of English? If so, give your
own examples to prove it.
M: ... and finally I notice that although we used to think that baggage was
somehow an American term and luggage an English term, we have now come to
adopt luggage much more, especially in connection with air travel.
Q: Well, I think it is equally true that we in Britain have more and more to adopt the
word baggage. I have certainly noticed that on shipping lines, perhaps chiefly those
that are connected with the American trade. But this blending of our usage in
connection with the luggage and baggage would seem to me to be rather typical of
this trend that we've got in the twentieth century towards neutralizing the differences
between our two forms of English.
(From A Common Language by A. H. Marckwardt and R. Quirk)

172
XIII. Study the lists of Americanisms and make the test ―Vocabulary of
American English‖ (See APPENDIX Unit 5).

XIV. Write the following words according to the British norms of spelling.
Judgment, practise, instill, color, flavor, check, program, woolen, humor, theater.

XV. Write the following words according to the American norms of spelling.
Honour, labour, centre, metre, defence, offence, catalogue, abridgement, gramm,
enfold, marvellous

Revision―Americanisms‖

Variant 1.

1. Say which of the two words is American and which is British. Translate the
sentences into Russian.
1. We've decided to take our vacation in the autumn /fall this year. 2. At my son's
high school the new term / semester starts next week. 3.1 never eat biscuits or
sweets / candy. 4. Put that garbage in the dustbin / trashcan. 5. The trousers look
nice with that waistcoat / vest.
2. The text includes some words used in American English. Find them and give
the British English words.
It was getting near lunchtime and I needed some gas, so I left the freeway and drove
towards the nearest town. There was a gas station just outside the town and I decided
to stop and have a look round. I put the car in a parking lot and took a cab to the
centre. It was midday and very hot, so I stopped at a little cafe with tables on the
sidewalk. I started talking to a truck driver, who gave me a history of the town, and
afterwards he took me on a guided tour. It made a very nice break.

3.What are the British English equivalents?

Stand/wait in line, faucet, pushcart, oatmeal, pitcher, shoe-string, street car, radio set.
4. State which of the words are used in America, which in England.
Mail-car, mail-van, mailman, postman, mail-box, pillar-box, spe
cial delivery, express post.
5. Give the English spelling of the words.
Catalog, humor, bark, quartet, apologize, center, luster.
6. Translate the words and word-combinations into English giving two
variants - British and American.
Кувшин, oceнь, консервная банка, каникулы, бензин, кран, брюки, метро, лифт,
багаж.

Variant 2.

1. Say which of the two words is American and which is British. Translate the
sentences into Russian.
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1. My apartment is on the fourth floor but I'm afraid there's no lift / elevator. 2. The
people next door are on holiday / vacation. 3. We left the car in the car park /
parking lot and took the subway. 4. My trainers are in the wardrobe / closet. 5.The
lorry/track came past us on the highway.
2. The text includes some words used in American English. Find them and give
the British English words.
It was getting near lunchtime and I needed some gas, so I left the freeway and
drove towards the nearest town. There was a gas station just outside the town and I
decided to stop and have a look round. I put the car in a parking lot and took a cab to
the centre. It was midday and very hot, so I stopped at a little cafe with tables on the
sidewalk. I started talking to a truck driver, who gave me a history of the town, and
afterwards he took me on a guided tour. It made a very nice break.
3. What are the British English equivalents?
Administration, package, gasoline, napkin, beach, cookie, note-case, apartment.
4. State which of the words are used in America, which in England.
Domestic mail, inland post, foreign mail, overseas mail, telegraph blank, telegraph
form.
5. Give the English spelling of the words.
Pretense, inflexion, jewelry, woolen, harbor, gipsy, program.

6. Translate the words and word-combinations into English giving two

variants - British and American.
Очередь, правительство, конфета, грузовик, справочное бюро, сани, пакет,
печенье, дрозд, плащ.

Unit 6. Texts for Analysis

Text 1
He weakly accepts an invitation to supper on Sunday evening. The cold roast
beef is frozen and comes from Australia and was over-cooked at middle day; and the
burgundy - ah, why will they call it burgundy? Have they never been to Beaune and
stayed at the hotel de la Poste? Of course it is grand to talk of the good old days when
you shared a crust of bread in a garret together, but it is a little disconcerting when
you reflect how near to a garret is the room you are sitting in. You don't feel at ease
when your friend tells you that his books don't sell and that he can't place his short
stories; the managers won't even read his plays, and when he compares them with
some of the stuff that's put on ( here he fixes you with an accusing eye) it really does
seem a bit hard. You are embarrassed and you look away. You exaggerate the failures
you have had in order that he may realize that life has its hardships for you too. You
refer to your work in the most disparaging way you can and are a trifle taken aback to
find that your host's opinion of it is the same as yours. You speak of the fickleness of
the public so that he may comfort himself by thinking that your popularity cannot
last. He is a friendly but severe critic.

174
"You'll never do anything so good as that/'' he says heartily, and you feel that your
whole career has been a long decadence from that one happy hit. "I always think
you've never quite fulfilled the promise you showed then".
The gas-fire roasts your feet, but your hands are icy. You look at your wrist-
watch surreptitiously and wonder whether your old friend would think it offensive if
you took your leave as early as ten. You have told your car to wait round the corner
so that it should not stand outside the door and by its magnificence affront his
poverty, but at the door he says:
"You'll find a bus at the bottom of the street. I'll just walk down with you." Panic
seizes you and you confess that you have a car. He finds it very odd that the
chauffeur should wait round the corner.
(W.S.Maugham "Cakes and Ale")

Tasks to the text

1 Find in the text cases of conversion.
2. Find the compounds and identify their types:
a) neutral
b) morphological
c) syntactic
3. How is the noun "bottom" used in the italicized sentence a ) metaphorically b)
metonymically
4. Find in the text the synonym for "to be disconcerting".

Text 2
He splashed about for a few minutes in the sea; it was too shallow to swim in
and for fear of sharks he could not go out of his depth; then he got out and went into
the bath-house for a shower. When he had dried himself, slipping into a bath-gown,
he called out to the Chinese cook that he would be ready for breakfast in five
minutes. He walked barefoot across the patch of coarse grass which Walker, the
administrator, proudly thought was a lawn, to his own quarters and dressed. The two
men had their meals together, but the Chinese cook told him that Walker had set out
on horseback at five and would not be back for another hour.
Mackintosh had slept badly and he looked with distaste at the paw-paw, and the
eggs and bacon which were set before him. The mosquitoes had been maddening that
night. He turned from side to side. And gradually the dull roar of the breakers on the
reef, so unceasing and so regular that generally you did not hear it, grew distinct on
his consciousness, its rhythm hammered on his tired nerves and he held himself with
clenched hands in the effort to bear it. He felt he must cling to his self-control or he
would go mad. And now, looking out of the window at the lagoon and the strip of
foam which marked the reef, he shuddered with hatred of the brilliant scene. He lit
his pipe and turned over the pile of Auckland papers that had come over from Apia a
few days before.
Then he turned to the policeman who stood at the door, a picturesque figure in
his white jacket and lava-lava, the loincloth of the Samoan, and told him to bring

175
kava. The kava bowl stood on the floor in the corner of the room, and the policeman
filled a half coconut shell and brought it to Walker.
(W.S.Maugham " Mackintosh")

Tasks to the text

1.Find the compounds and identify their types:
a) neutral
b) morphological
c) syntactic
2. Define the particular type of word-building process by which the italicized words
in the text are made.
3. Read the brief description of the historical development of the noun "pipe" and
identify the results of its semantic change:
a) generalization
b) specialization
c) degradation
d)elevation
pipe
a musical wind instrument hollow oblong cylindrical instrument

4.Find in the text the homonyms for the following words and identify their types: to
see, our, course, bear (n), seen (Past Part.), here
a) Homophones
d) Homographs
e) Homonyms proper
5.Complete the synonymic group with the words from the text and identify the
dominant synonym:
Shout -yell -
To tremble - to shiver -to shake -Terror- horror -

Text 3
Roy's club was sedate. In the ante-chamber were only an ancient porter and a
page; and I had a sudden and melancholy feeling that the members were all attending
the funeral of the head-waiter. The page, when I had uttered Roy's name, led me into
an empty passage to leave my hat and stick and then into an empty hall hung with
life-sized portraits of Victorian statesmen. Roy got up from a leather sofa and warmly
greeted me.
' Shall we go straight up ?' he said.
I was right in thinking that he would not offer me a cocktail and I commended
my prudence, lie led me up a noble flight of heavily carpeted stairs, and we passed
nobody on the way; we entered the strangers' dining-room, and we were its only
occupants. It was a room of some size, very clean and white, with an Adam window.
We sat down by it and a demure waiter handed us the bill of fare. Beef, mutton, and
lamb, cold salmon, apple tart, rhubarb tart, gooseberry tart. As my eye travelled down

176
the inevitable list I sighed as I thought of the restaurants round the corner where there
were French cooking, the clatter of life, and pretty, painted women in summer frocks.
'I can recommend the veal-and-ham pie,' said Roy.
'All right'.
When I had agreed to this he told the waiter to call the wine-steward. I could not
but admire the authoritative and yet perfectly polite manner in which he gave his
orders. You felt that thus would a well-bred king send for one of his field-marshals.
The wine-steward, portly in black, with the silver chain of his office round his neck,
bustled in with the wine-list in his hand. Roy nodded to him with curt familiarity
(W.S.Maugham "Cakes and Ale").

Tasks to the text

1.Find the compounds and identify their types:
a)neutral
b)morphological
c)syntactic
2. Find in the text a case of conversion and establish semantic correlation.
3. Find in the text the homonyms for the following words and identify their types : to
write, page, lead, fair, sum
a) Homophones
b) Homographs
c) Homonyms proper
4.Find in the text a pair of antonyms and establish their type:
a) contrary '
b) contradictory
c) conversive
d) vectorial
5. Which of the following is the result of semantic change of the-word "nice" if we
know that it's older meaning was " foolish":
a) degeneration
b) elevation
c) broadening ,
d) narrowing

177
 APPENDIX

UNIT 3.
Prefixes of Latin Origin

Prefix Meaning or function Examples

I II

ab- Signifies "from", abnormal abuse, absent, abstain

"away", separation, or
departure.
ad- Expresses adherence or admixture, ad- Admonish, admit
addition, proximity, mix
or merely
intensification.
Ante-, Denotes ―preceding", antechamber Anticipate
anti- "in front of" or "prior
to".
bis-, bi- Means "twice", "two". bicarbonate, bicycle, biscuit, binocular
bin- bicentenary
circum- Adverbially signifies circumfuse,
circu- "around", "about", "on circumrotation,
all sides". circumstance, circuit
con-, co- 1. Means "with", confraternity, Condition, conduct
"together". confrontation,
configuration,
cooperate,
co-tidal,
cosignatory
2. Corresponds to the correlative
Russian co. (соотноси-
тельный)
contra-, Means "against", contradistinc- contradict, countermand
counter "contrary", "in op- tion, contra-
position". distinguish,
counter- revo-
lutionary,
counter-attack
de- Means: descend, degrade, decrease,
1) "down"; depose
2) separation. depart, decamp, deduce,
deduct

178
 Signifies reversing or demerit, de- deplete
undoing of an action. odorize, de-
mobilize
dis- Denotes: dismember, distract, disperse, dismiss,
1) separation or parting disown, dis- disease
from; union, disaf-
2) reversal, undoing, fection
negation or depriving.
duo- Means "two". duodecimal Duodenum
ex- Denotes: ex-minister, ex- Express
1) "formerly but not king, ex-
now"; president;
2) "out of"; export, exhale;
3) "beyond". exceed
extra- Forms adjectives extraordinary, extravagant
denoting "beyond", extraspecial
"outside of", "outside the (edition),
scope of". extracerebral,
extra-nuclear,
extra-parental
in- Means "not", "non-", infirm, inca-
"un-". pable, inactive,
inaccurate, in-
ability
il- An assimilated form of illiterate, illo- illicit, legible, legitimate
in- ("not") and of in- gical, illumine
("in").
ir- An assimilated form of irrational, ir- irrigate, irruption
in-. regular,
irresponsive,
irrespective,
irresolute
en- (em is Signifies "in", "into"; enclose, enact, enchant, employ, embargo
used forms verbs; sometimes encircle, en-
before b, the prefix adds a mere in- large, enliven,
p, or m) tensive force. embank
inter- Means "together", interface,
"between", "among". inrerglow,
interjacent,
international
intro- Signifies "to", "into", introduce, introspection,
"within", "inward". introversion
mis- Means "amiss", "wrong", misadventure, mischief, miscreant
"ill", "wrongly". mischance

179
non- Means "not", "un-", "in-". nondescript, Nonsense
non-party, non-
stop (flight) .
op- Means "against". oppress, opposition
per- Signifies: perspicuous, perennial,
1) "throughout" (in space persuade, perturb, perfect
or time);
2) "away", or "over";
3) "completely",
"thoroughly", "perfectly".
post- Means "after", postdate, post- postpone, postscript
"subsequent", "later". war
pre- Denotes priority. prearrange, prepare, predict
preallotment,
pre-war,
pre-revolu-
tionary
re- Means: 1) "again"; reread, rewrite,
renew, recollect,
re-form, re-
create
2) "back". restore, retrace, return,
retreat
retro- Means "back", Retroversion, retrospective
"backward". retroaction,
refrogradation
sub- Signifies: subcellar, sub-
1) "under", "below", terranean, sub-
"beneath"; marine, subcu-
taneous,
subdivision
2) "next lower than", subjudge, sub- submit
"subordinate to", committee,
"inferior in rank". subdeputy,
subdivision,
subdean,sub-
editor
Super- Signifies "above", supernatural, superlative, superman,
"over". superdread
Trans- Means "over", "through", Trans-Atlantic, transmit, transfer
"across", "beyond". transcontinental,
transplant

180
Ultra- Means "beyond", ultramarine,
"excessively", "ex- ultramodern,
ceedingly", "beyond ultradical,
what", "uncommon". ultraliberal,
ultraviolet
vice-(vis- Means "instead of", "in vice-president,
place of" (cf. the Russian viscount,
вице-) vice-governor

Prefixes of Germanic Origin

Prefix Meaning or function Examples

I II

a-, art- 1. In OE "a" (meaning arise

"of").
2. In OE "of" (orig. adown
meaning "off").
3. In OE "and-". Answer
4. In OE "ge-". aware, afford
5. In OE "on-". awaken, ashamed
be- OE-be. In Mod. E. forms: beclasp, bedash,
1) verbs with a bescreen,
reinforcing sense of bewrap
"about" or "over", or with
a meaning of "all
around", "all over";
2) transitive verbs with bedew, beflag,
the force of "to affect" or begem
"by means of";
3) verbs with the sense of bedazzle,
"thoroughly", bemuddle,
"completely", "vio- besmear
lently", "repeatedly";
4) verbs with the sense of bereave
"away", "from";
5) transitive verbs becrawl,
implying action done for, begroan, bfleap
to, at, by, over, against;
6) verbs (from adjectives becripple
or nouns) with the force
of "to make" or "to cause

181
 to be";

7) verbs with the sense of bebrother,

"to name". belady
for- Used with verbs to forsay
indicate prohibition,
exclusion, failure, ne-
glect.
May also be used with forbruise, forride
intensive force denoting
"completely",
"overwhelmingly".
un-. 1. Signifies "not". unwilling,
unbearable,
unable
2. Shows the reversal of Tie - untie, bind
an action. -unbind, do -
undo

Prefixes of Greek Origin

Prefix Meaning or function Examples

I II

a- Means "not", "un-", atheist, atheism apathy, anonymous

"non-".
amphi- Signifies "about", "on amphitheatre amphibious
both sides", "of both
kinds".
anti-, Signifies "opposite", antitype,
ant- "against", "instead". antithesis,
antiaircraft,
antarctic
dis-, di- Means "twice", "double". dissyllable Diphthong
poly- Means "many" or polysyllable, Polyglot
"much". poly-theist

Suffixes
Noun Suffixes of Germanic Origin

Suffix Meaning or function Examples

I II
182
-en Means "to make", "to quicken, whiten
render".
-er Forms: rider, miner,
1) nouns from verbs worker, teacher
denoting the agent;
2) nouns from nouns or Londoner, is-
adjectives of place, lander, New
denoting resident of, Zealander
one living in;
3) nouns from nouns, tinner, cutter,
with the sense of "one beater, embosser
who has to do with",
esp. as a matter of
trade, profession, etc.
-ier, -yer Noun suffix equivalent gondolier, cashier, cavalier
to -er. grenadier, lawyer
-ing Suffix denoting atheling, shilling
"belonging to", "of the
kind", "descended
from".
-ing Forms nouns from reading, learning,
verbs. It means: 1) feeling, teaching,
"act", "fact", "art of bearing, boating
doing";
2) "that which does" or covering, sweep-
"that which results ings, mooring
from", "accompanies".
-ling Conveys a diminutive firstling, duckling,
or a depreciatory force. seedling, nestling,
hireling, under-
ling, princeling
-ness Forms nouns denoting goodness, witness, wilderness
state, condition, quality carelessness,
or degree. forgiveness,
darkness
-ster Originally denoted the songster, roadster, Spinster
female agent. In Mod. gangster, oldster,
E. the suffix is joined youngster, dabster,
to nouns and, more rhymester
rarely, to adjectives,
the notion of agency
tending to be lost, and
the suffix often having

183
 a depreciatory
meaning.

-th Forms nouns of state or breadth, length, birth

quality, from ad- width, strength
jectives.
-ie, -y Forms diminutives. Birdie, auntie, lad-
die, lassie, granny,
Billy, aunty,
Johnny
-y Noun suffix denoting augury, perjury
result of action.

Noun Suffixes of Latin Origin

Suffix Function Examples

I II

-tide Forms nouns indicating: colonnade, Brigade

an action done, or the blockade,
product of an action or lemonade
process on raw material.
age Suffix is used to form passage,
nouns denoting: 1) act or marriage,
process; pilotage
2) collection, aggregate, postage, average,
or sum total of things in, shrinkage, mileage
or arising from;
3) when added to the breakage, leakage
verbs, it expresses the
action;
4) a person. Hostage Savage
-an Forms primarily guardian, Dean
-ian adjectives which, republican,
however, are often used librarian,
substantively, with the grammarian
senses of "belonging to",
"following a system or
doctrine".
Inhabitant of a place. Oxonian,
Leningradian

184
-ence Forms nouns of action as guidance,
-ance, in OF., and nouns hindrance,
indicating state or quality arrogance,
as in ... obedience
-ancy, Forms nouns denoting brilliancy,
-ency quality or state. vacancy,
emergency,
constituency
-ant, Suffix is used to form: 1 ) errant, defiant
-ent adjectives;
2) nouns denoting a student, claimant merchant,
person or thing acting as pedant,
an agent. servant
-ar Signifies "belonging to", nuclear, consular
"pertaining to", "like", "of
the nature of".
-ard, Forms derivative nouns drunkard, braggart Coward
-art which have an intensive,
often contemptuous force.
-er Forms nouns denoting a archer, practitio- Butler
person or thing connected ner, officer, car-
with. penter, grocer
-eer, - Denotes agency. charioteer,
o(u)r cannoneer

Denotes state or quality. fervo(u)r, error

-ate, -at Forms nouns denoting chlorate, hydrate,
chemical terms. nitrate
Denotes function or mandate, magnate, curate
person. legate,
consulate,
magistrate,
advocate,
diplomat
-cy Forms nouns indicating idiocy, bankruptcy, Curacy
state, condition, office. diplomacy

-ee, -ey, Denotes the object of an devotee, absentee, clergy,

-y action, the one to whom refugee, grandee, jury,
an action is done or on trustee, assignee, bailee,
whom a right is grantee attorney,
conferred. ally

185
-ess Forms feminine poetess, lioness,
derivatives. countess, goddess,
adventuress, mur-
deress
-let Forms nouns with a leaflet, brooklet, Hamlet
diminutive sense. cloudlet, booklet
-ice Denotes act, quality, service, justice
condition.
-ine, -in Forms nouns indicating Arsine, chlorine Bulletin
imitations, derivative
products.
-ion Forms abstract nouns. union, opinion, session,
legion
-ive Signifies: affirmative
1) having a nature or
quality of (a thing);
2) given or tending to. conclusive

-ence Forms abstract nouns Existence

signifying action, state,
quality or degree.
-ment Forms nouns chiefly from amazement
verbs and means:
1) state, quality or
condition;

2) action; abridgement

-ment 3) process, continuance, government, con-

manner. cealment, payment,
judgement,
development

-mony Suffix in nouns denoting Ceremony testimony, patrimony,

resulting thing or abstract matrimony
condition.
-or Agent or person. actor, warrior, pro- doctor, emperor
fessor
-our, - Forms nouns indicating: Engineer amateur, pioneer
eur, -eer 1) agent or person;
2) quality or state. grandeur, Favour
behaviour,
hauteur

186
-ory Forms nouns denoting: signatory, dormitory
1) agent or person;
2) place.
-ry. -ery Forms nouns denoting a machinery, Fairy
general collective sense, a slavery,
state or condition. trickery,
husbandry,
poetry
-tion Forms nouns from verbs revolution, Dictation
and denotes action, state, resolution,
and concrete instance or organization
result.
-tude Forms nouns and is longitude, prompti- attitude, fortitude, magni-
equivalent to -ness. tude tude, gratitude
-ty Forms abstract nouns of fraternity,
quality, state, condition. liberty,
cruelty,
poverty,
frailty
-ure Forms nouns indicating culture, furniture, picture,
act, process, being; or seizure, (public) figure
result (of an act), state;
rank.

Noun Suffixes of Greek Origin

Suffix Function Examples

I II

-asm Forms abstract nouns. Enthusiasm

-ast Forms agent nouns enthusiast, gymnast
denoting "one who does or
makes the practice of",
"one who adheres to".
-ic, -ics Forms adjectives with the cynic, sceptic, cleric
senses "after the manner
of", "of the nature of",
"pertaining to";
"art or science". phonetics, logic, music
mathematics,
physics
-ine Forms feminine names. heroine

187
-ism Forms nouns of action communism,
naming the process, the socialism, atheism,
completed action, or its
result; forms the name of a
system or theory or
practice, etc.
-ist Forms nouns denoting a socialist, dramatist Artist
person who practices some
method or art or who ad-
heres to, or advocates a
given doctrine, system,
cause.
-ite Forms adjectives and nouns Muscovite
with the senses "connected
with" or "belonging to", "a
native or citizen of",
-oid Means "like", "in the form metalloid
of". anthropoid
-y Forms abstract nouns. academy
-ia Forms nouns, chiefly Mo- dyspepsia
dern Latin terms of patho- hydrophobia
logy and botany.

Adjective Suffixes of Germanic Origin

Suffix Function Examples

I II

-fold Used with numerals to form twofold, threefold,

adjectives and adverbs, fourfold, manifold
denoting multiplication or
increase in a geometrical
ratio, the doubling, tripling,
etc.
-ful Denotes "full of", thankful, hopeful,
"abounding in". powerful, dreadful

-less Denotes (with nouns) thankless,

"without", "destitute of", hopeless,
"not having", "free from". powerless,
senseless,
worthless

188
-ish Means: greyish, reddish,
1) similar to; whitish, foolish
2) adds a depreciatory childish,
colouring. womanish,
girlish
-like Means "like that" (or "those businesslike,
of"); "having the warlike, tiger like
characteristic of". (ferocity), lifelike

-ly Means: womanly, manly

1) "like in appearance,
manner or nature",
"characteristic of";
2)"rather"; cleanly, sickly,
poor/y, weakly
3) "every". weekly, daily,
monthly
-some Means "similar to" or troublesome, irk- Handsome
"almost the same as". some, tiresome

-ward Denotes direction or course. downward,

wayward,
sideward
-y Means "characterized by", mighty,
"having", "full of". crafty,
angry

Adjective Suffixes of Latin Origin

Suffix Function Examples

I II

-able Forms adjectives from eatable,

verbs. fashionable,
manageable,
saleable
-al Forms adjectives having the comical,
senses "of the kind of", dramatical,
"pertaining to". poetical, logical
-an, -ean Means "belonging or Roman, European,
pertaining to". Pythagorean

189
-ary Forms adjectives with the necessary,
senses "pertaining to", "of contrary,
the kind or nature of". ordinary
-ese Signifies "of", "pertaining Japanese, Chinese
to", or "originating in" (a
certain place or country).

-esque Denotes "in the manner or picturesque arabesque, grotesque

style of", "like".
-ic Signifies "of", "pertaining Celtic, domestic
to", "of the nature of",
"belonging to".
-ine Forms adjectives with the infantine
senses "of", "like",
"pertaining to", "cha-
racterized by".
-ive Forms adjectives with the talkative Native
senses "having a tendency
to", "having the nature,
character or quality of", or
"given to some action", etc.
-ous Forms adjectives denoting glorious, obvious,
"characterized by", "of the perilous, serious,
nature of", "abounding in", joyous, vicious
"full of". piteous,
virtuous

Verb Suffixes

Suffix Function Examples

I II

-en Has the sense of "to make", brighten, blacken,

"to make into" or "to make lengthen, darken
like".
-ate Forms causative verbs. agitate, Aggravate
graduate,
vaccinate
-fy Forms verbs with the senses terrify, magnify,
"to make", "to produce", "to intensify
bring to a certain state", "to
make a specified thing", etc.

190
-ize, -ise Forms verbs denoting "to organize,
make", "to conform to", "to generalize,
charge", etc. apologize

Adverb Suffixes

Suffix Function Examples

I II

-ty Forms adverbs from badly, deadly,

adjectives. newly
-ward(s) Signifies direction. backward(s),
forward(s),
homeward(s)
-long Signifies manner of action. headlong, sidelong
-wise Denotes "way", "manner", otherwise,
"respect". crosswise,
clockwise

UNIT 4
Euphemisms

above your ceiling - promoted to a level beyond your abilities

absorption - a military conquest
academically subnormal - of very low ability or intelligence
academic dismissal - expulsion from college
accident - 1) involuntary urination or defecation; 2) an unplanned pregnancy
action - 1) vice or illegal activity, or its proceeds; 2) the brutal harassment of
supposed opponents; 3) a chance of casual copulation
affair of honour (obsolete) - a duel
alcohol - an intoxicant
all-rounder - a person of both heterosexual and homosexual tastes
ammunition - lavatory paper
angel of the night - a prostitute
answer the call - 1) to die; 2) to urinate
armed struggle (the) - terrorism
at half-mast - with the trouser zip undone
at liberty - involuntarily unemployed
at rest - dead
at your last - about to die
backhander - a bribe
backward - 1) very stupid; 2) poor or uncivilized
bad fire (the)-hell
191
bad man - the devil
bag (the) - dismissal from employment or courtship (a synonym of sack)
bags - trousers
banana republic - a poor and possibly corrupt country
bananas - mentally disturbed
basement (American) - a lavatory
bathroom (American) - a lavatory
be excused - to go to the lavatory
behind - the buttocks
benefit - state aid paid to the needy
better country (a) - life after death
beverage - an intoxicant
beyond help - dead
big - pregnant
big-boned - fat
big С (the) (American) - cancer
big D (the) - death
big house (American) - a prison
big jobs - defecation
birthday suit (your) - nakedness
black lad - the devil
black velvet - a dark-skinned prostitute
blast - an intoxicant
blazes - hell
blue hair - an old woman
blue room - a lavatory on an aircraft
BO (body odour) - the smell of stale sweat
bodily functions - urination and defecation
bottom - the buttocks
box - a coffin
boy scouts (American) - state police
breathe your last - to die
broken home - a family with young children whose parents have parted
brown envelope - a bribe
brown sugar — heroin
bucket - to kill by drowning (a way of disposing of an excess of kittens)
bun - a prostitute
bun in the oven (a) – pregnancy
cage — a prison
call (the) - death
call girl - a prostitute
call of nature - the need to urinate or defecate
can (American) - 1) a lavatory; 2) a prison
canary - 1) a sexually available female; 2) an informer to the police
candy - illegal narcotics
192
canned - drunk
cannon - a pickpocket
carpet - to reprimand
carry - 1) to be pregnant (with); 2) to have an illegal narcotic on you
cat - a prostitute
catch - a rich marriageable adult
cattle - a category of despised persons
cease to be- to die
celebrate - to drink intoxicants to excess
certain age (a) - old
chair (the) -judicial death by electrocution
chapel of ease - a lavatory
Charlie uncle - a stupid man
charms - the sexual attractiveness of a female
chase the dragon - to smoke a narcotic
cherry - a woman's virginity
chew a gun - to kill yourself
chi-chi - of mixed white and Indian ancestry
chicken - coward
child of sin (obsolete) - an illegitimate child
child of Venus - a prostitute
Chinese - is used in phrases to indicate dishonesty, wiliness, duplicity, or muddle,
some of which follow
Chinese copy - a production model stolen from another's design
Chinese paper - a security of doubtful value
Chinese tobacco - opium
clean - free from unpleasantness, danger, or illegality
clean house - to remove incriminating evidence
cloakroom - a lavatory
close an account - to kill
Dutch feast - an occasion where the host becomes drunk while his guests are still
sober
Dutchman - a stupid person
Dutch widow - a prostitute
ear - a microphone used in secret surveilance
easy way out (the) - suicide
eat a gun - to commit suicide with a firearm
eat for two - to be pregnant
eat porridge (British) - to be in prison
eccentric - severely ill mentally
economically disadvantaged - poor
economically inactive - unemployed
economical with the truth - lying
elbow-bending - drinking intoxicants
elevated - drunk
193
eliminate - to kill
embroidery - exaggeration or lying
emergency - a war
emotional - drunk
end - to kill
enjoy Her Majesty's hospitality - to be in prison
enter the next world - to die
erase - to kill
eternal life - death
eternity (in) - dead
everlasting life - death
exchange this life for a better - to die
excluded (the) - poor people
expectant - pregnant
extinguish - to kill
eye-opener - an intoxicant or stimulant taken on waking
face your maker - to be mortally ill
facility - a lavatory
fade away - to die
fallen (the) - those killed in war
family planning - contraception
father of lies - the devil
feather your nest - to provide for yourself at the expense of others
feed the fishes - to be seasick
feed your nose - to inhale illicit narcotics through the nose
feel a collar - to arrest
feel no pain - to be drunk
fifth column - traitors within your ranks
filthy - relating to any taboo act
financially constrained - poor
finish - to kill
fish - a prostitute's customer
fish story - a lie or exaggeration
flexible - unprincipled
fly-by-night - drunk
flying handicap – diarrhea
fly one wing low - to be drunk
food for worms - dead „_
footless - drunk
forehead challenged - balding
forward at the knees - elderly
four-letter man - an unpleasant person, the letters are S, H, I and T
four-letter word - an obscenity
freedom fighters - terrorists
free love - unrestricted copulation outside marriage
194
French leave - unauthorized absence
freshen a drink - to serve more alcohol
fruitcake - a mentally abnormal or eccentric person
fruit salad - a mixture of illegal narcotics
fry - to kill or be killed
full in the belly - pregnant
funny - 1) unwell; 2) mad
funny money - cash which cannot be spent openly
gain - to steal
garden of remembrance - the curtilage of a crematorium
gargle - an alcoholic drink
gathered to God - dead
gay - enjoying or doing something which is the subject of a taboo. Now standard
English for homosexual
gentleman - a lavatory exclusively for male use
geography - the location of a lavatory
get it - to be killed
ghost - 1) a fictitious employee; 2) a writer whose work is published under another's
name
give (someone) the air - to dismiss from employment
give your life - to be killed in action
glass - an intoxicant
go into the streets - to become a prostitute
gold-digger - a woman who consorts with a man because he is rich
golden years (the) - old age
gone - 1) pregnant; 2) drunk or under the influence of narcotics
gooseberry - the devil
grape (the) - wine
grass - marijuana
great certainty (the) - death
great majority - the dead
Greek way (the) - pederasty
guest - 1) a prisoner; 2) a customer
habit - an addiction to narcotics
haircut - a severe financial loss
hairpiece - a wig
half-deck - a mentally disturbed person
half-seas over - drunk
hand - an employee
handicap - a mental or physical defect
handshake - a supplementary payment on leaving a job
happy event - the birth of a child
happy release - the death of a terminally ill patient
hard of hearing - deaf
hard room - a prison cell
195
hard up – poor
Harry - the devil
head(s) - a lavatory on a ship
head case - an idiot
headhunter - a recruiting agent
help yourself- to steal
hereafter (the) - death
high - drunk or under the influence of narcotics
hit the bottle - to drink intoxicants to excess
holiday - a term in prison
home economics - cooking and house-keeping
hook - to steal
hooker - a prostitute
hospice - an institution for the incurable or dying
hospital - an institution for the insane
hostess - a prostitute
hot- 1) infected with venereal disease; 3) radioactive
hot place (the) - hell
hot seat - an electric chair used for execution
house of correction - a prison
human intelligence - the use of spies
human resources - personnel
hygiene facilities - a lavatory
I hear what you say - I do not agree with you (a convenient form of words because it
avoids the need to enter into discussion or argument)
impaired hearing - deafness
improving knife (the) - cosmetic surgery
incident — a war
indescribables, inexpressibles (obsolete) - trousers
in for it - pregnant (a common use, especially of pregnancy outside marriage)
in heaven - dead
inner city - slum
inquisition - torture
intelligence - spying
in the arms of Morpheus - asleep in the churchyard - dead and buried
in the departure lounge - about to be dismissed from employment
in the family way - pregnant
in the glue - in personal difficulty, unable to move freely
in the skin - naked
in the soil - dead
in the trade - earning a living by prostitution
in trouble -1) pregnant; 2) detected by the police in criminal activity
intruder - an armed invader
John - a lavatory
John Barleycorn - whisky
196
Johnnie's out of jail (American) - your trouser zip is undone
Johnny - a contraceptive sheath
jolly - drunk (an old variant of merry)
joy - heroin
jug - 1) a prison; 2) an intoxicant
jugs - the female breasts
knobs - the female breasts
knockers - the female breasts
labour - childbirth
ladies - a lavatory exclusively for female use
ladies' man - a man who delights in the company of women
lady-in-waiting - a pregnant woman
land of forgetfulness (the) - death
land of Nod (the) - sleep
language - swear words
last call (the) - death
late - 1) dead; 2) expected with fears of unplanned pregnancy
laughing academy - an institution for the insane
lay down your life - to be killed in wartime
leave the room - to go to the lavatory
left-handed wife - a woman living with a man to whom she is not married
legal resident - a spy accredited as a diplomat (as different from the illegal resident
who spies in the host country under cover)
liberate - 1) to conquer; 2) to steal
lift a leg - 1) to urinate; 2) (of a male) to copulate
lift your little finger - to drink intoxicants
light in the head - of low intelligence
limited - idle, stupid, or incompetent
live by trade — to be a prostitute
live in (mortal) sin (of a couple) - to live together without being married
loaded — drunk
locked - drunk
long home (your) - death
loo - a lavatory
look at the garden - to urinate out of doors
look in a cup - to foretell the future
Lord of the Flies - the devil
Lord sends for you (the) - you are dead
lose the vital signs - to die
lose your (good) character - to be discovered in any impropriety
lose your lunch - to vomit
love affair - a short-term sexual relationship
love child - an illegitimate child
love nest - a place in which a mistress is housed
low girls – prostitutes
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magic word (the) - please
make a call - to urinate
make a decent (an honest) woman of- to marry a woman you have impregnated
make a hole in the water - to kill yourself by drowning
make a mess - to urinate or defecate involuntarily or in an inappropriate place
meet your Maker - to die
men ('s room) - a lavatory for male use only
mercy death - the murder of a patient thought to be terminally ill
modern conveniences (British) - a lavatory and bathroom indoors
monthly period - menstruation
moon people – lunatics
narrow bed - a grave
nasty complaint (a) — venereal disease
needlepusher - a person addicted to illegal narcotics
negative cash - debt
negative growth - a decline
negatively privileged - poor
Neopolitan bone-ache - syphilis
nervous breakdown - a severe mental illness
neutralize - to kill
Nick - the devil
night (the) - death
nightcap - a drink of intoxicant
nightclub hostess - a prostitute
night girl - a prostitute
night stool - a portable lavatory
no comment -I admit nothing
no longer with us - dead
no more - dead
not at home, not in - at home but unwilling to see or speak to a caller
notice - dismissal from employment
not long for this world - about to die
off the payroll - dismissed from employment
off the rails - being detected in reprehensible conduct
oil - to bribe
oldest profession (the) - prostitution
old maid - an unmarried woman who is unlikely to marry
one foot in the grave - near death
one for the road - an extra drink of intoxicant before leaving company
one-way ride - an abduction where the victim is murdered
on the needle - addicted to illegal narcotics taken by self-injection
on the shelf- (of a female) unmarried and unlikely to marry
on the take - accepting bribes
orientation - homosexuality
outhouse - a lavatory
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over-privileged – rich
beggars pay a visit - to urinate
pay lip service - insincerely to say you agree with or support
people cuts - the dismissal of employees
periodic rest - a term in prison
persona non grata - someone caught spying
pill (the) - a contraceptive taken orally by females
pine overcoat - a coffin
politically correct - conforming in behavior or language to dogmatic
opinions
powder - a narcotic taken illegally
powder room - a lavatory for the exclusive use of females
powder your nose - to go to the lavatory
precautions - contraception
present - a bribe
preventive - a contraceptive sheath, also protector
Prince of Darkness - the devil
private parts - the-human genitalia, also privities and privy parts
privileged – rich
queen - a male homosexual
quickie — a drink of intoxicant
quit - to die
raincoat - a private investigator
red lamp - a brothel
redundant - dismissed from employment
refresher - a drink of intoxicant
remains - a corpse
removal - 1) a murder; 2) dismissal from employment
rest home - an institution for the aged or mentally ill
restorative - a drink of intoxicant
retiring-room - a lavatory
reviver - a drink of intoxicant
room and board with Uncle Sam (American) - imprisonment
sack (the) - dismissal from employment
saddle-soap - flattery (its quality is to make the seat more comfortable by softening it)
sanitary man — a cleaner of lavatories
seat - buttocks
secret parts - the human genitalia
senior citizen - an old person
sensitive payment - a bribe
separate - to cease living together as man and wife
separation - death
sit-upon - buttocks
six feet of earth - death
slow - stupid (of children) {slow upstairs is used only of adults)
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smallest room (the) - a lavatory
so-and-so — a mild insult
social disease - a venereal disease
soft soap - flattery
something for the weekend - a contraceptive sheath
souvenir - an illegitimate child
spend a penny - to urinate
spend more time with your family - to be dismissed from employment
stand before your Maker - to die
standstill - an attempt by government to restrict pay increases
stool-pigeon - a police informer
stupid - drunk
sweeten - to bribe
swell - to be pregnant
tail-pulling - the publication of a book at the author's expense
take a drink - to be alcoholic
take for a ride - to murder
take home - to die of natural causes
take leave of life - to die
take needle - to inject narcotics illegally
take refuge in a better world - to die
take the air - to urinate
take too much - to be drunk
taste for the bottle - an addiction to alcohol
thick - stupid (a shortened form of thick in the head)
touch signature - a fingerprint
tumour (a) - cancer
turn up your toes - to die
turn your face to the wall - to die
unbalanced - of unsound mind unbiblical sex (American) – incest
underachiever - an idle or stupid child
underpriviliged - poor or illiterate
under the counter - illegal
under the influence - drunk
under the table - very drunk
under the weather - unwell
undiscovered country (the) - death
united - dead
unknown to men - a virgin
unmentionables-1) (obsolete) trousers or undergarments, also unexpressibles
unspeakables, unwhisperables, indescribables and inexpressibles; 2) haemorrhoids
unplugged - mentally ill
unscrewed - mad
unsighted - blind
unwell - drunk
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unwired - mentally unbalanced
use a wheelchair - to be physically incapable of walking
used - second-hand
use paper - to defecate (hospital jargon)
verbally deficient - unable to read
vertically challenged - of short stature
visually challenged - ugly
visually impaired - blind or with very poor eyesight
vital statistics - the measurement of a woman's chest, waist and buttocks
W/WC - water closet - a lavatory with a flush mechanism
wallflower - a young woman who is failing to attract a male companion
way of all flesh (the) - death
weed (the) - a taboo substance which is smoked
well endowed - having large genitals or breasts
wet job - a murder
wetness — sweat
what you may call it - any taboo object
whistle blower - a person who reveals damaging confidential information
white elephant - an unwanted possession
wipe off, wipe out - to kill
wired to the moon - mentally abnormal
with child - pregnant
with learning difficulties - unable to keep up with your peers in class
with us no more - dead
wooden box - a coffin
working girl - a prostitute
work the streets - to be a prostitute
wrinkly - an old person
write off- to kill or destroy
you-know-what - any taboo subject within the context

Unit 5.
List 1. Native American Words
Arkansas – название штата (индейское заимствование: Kansas «дымящаяся
вода», ср. F. arc «лук», «изгиб»)
Banjo – банджо (искаженное слово от bandore, L. pandura, pandurium -
музыкальный инструмент с тремя струнами)
Blizzard – буран, сильная метель (ср. G. Blitz «молния» или blitzartig «подобно
молнии»)
Canyon – каньон (ср. Sp. canon «труба»)
carry-all – тележка (ср. F. cariole)
Connecticut – название штата (индейское заимствование: Quonektakut «длинная
река»)
Coyote – степной волк, койот (индейское заимствование из языка племен
Центральной Америки через испанский язык)
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Dumb – 1) немой; 2) глупый (ср. G. dumm «глупый»)
Fresh – свежий, дерзкий (ср. G. frech «дерзкий»)
Hammock – гамак (индейское заимствование из языка племени арауакан)
Hickory – гикори, американский орешник (индейское заимствование:
paecohiccora «толченые орехи»)
hooch – (si.) сокр. Hoochinoo крепкий спиртной напиток (индейское
заимствование)
Idaho – название штата (индейское заимствование, означающее «жемчужина
гор»)
Illinois – pp название штата (индейское заимствование с французским
суффиксом -ois, означающее «племя», «род»)
Indian file – гуськом (способ передвижения индейцев через леса)
jazz – джаз (из креольского jazz «ускорять»; вероятно, африканского
происхождения)
kinnikinnich – дерево, кору которого индейцы используют для курения,
смешивая ее с сухими листьями (индейское заимствование из языка племени
алгонквиэн)
loafer – 1) «бездельник»; 2) «летун», «бродяга» (ср. G. laufen «бегать»)
Massachusetts – название штата (индейское заимствование, означающее
«горная местность»)
Mississippi – река (индейское заимствование из языка племени алгонквиэн: misi
«великая», sipi «вода»)
Mohawk – название резервации в штате Массачусетс (индейское заимствование
из языка племени ирокезов)
Mosquito – комар, мошка, москит (через Sp. mosca «муха»; L. musca)
Muskrat – мускусная крыса, ондатра; от musquash (индейское заимствование из
языка племени алгонквиэн)
Ohio – название штата (индейское заимствование, означающее «красивая
река»)
Oklahoma – название штата (индейское заимствование, обозначает «родина
Красного Человека»)
Raccoon (coon) – енот (индейское заимствование из языка племени алгонквиэн)
Ranch – ранчо, скотоводческая ферма (ср. Sp. rancho «столовая с общим
питанием»)
Saskatoon – кустарник с белыми цветами и пурпурными сладкими плодами от
misaskwatomin (индейское заимствование из языка племени кри)
Skunk – скунс, хорек (индейское заимствование из языка племени алгонквиэн)
Squash – кабачки (индейское заимствование из языка племени алгонквиэн; ср.
askoot-asquash «зеленая пища»)
Stampede – паническое бегство скота (ср. Sp. estampido «потрескивание»)
tamarack-tree – американская лиственница (индейское заимствование из языка
племени алгонквиэн)
Tennessee – название штата (индейское заимствование, означающее «река с
большим изгибом»)

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Toboggan – длинные плоские сани, салазки (индейское заимствование из языка
племени алгонквиэн)
Woodchuck – вид американского сурка (индейское заимствование из языка
племени алгонквиэн - wejack «рыбак»; народная этимология; ср. wood и chuck)
Wyoming – название штата (индейское заимствование, означающее «Великие
Равнины»)

List 2. Full Americanisms

Backwoods – 1) лесная глушь; 2) любая малозаселенная и отдаленная местность
Blue jay – (moose bird) канадская сойка
Bobcat – американская рысь
boiled dinner – блюдо из овощей
саn – консервная банка
casket – гроб
chickadee – американская черноголовая синица
cold snap – кратковременное похолодание
downtown – деловая часть города
drive-in – кинотеатр, магазин или закусочная, обслуживающая автомобилистов
drugstore – аптекарский магазин с закусочной
easy-street – богатство
electoral college – коллегия выборщиков
fat cat – тот, кто снабжает деньгами политиканов
five-and-ten cent store – магазин стандартных цен
floater – избиратель, голосующий за плату несколько раз в разных местах
gangland – преступный мир
garbage-can – мусорная корзина (ящик)
gimmick – уловка
hallway – коридор
jack-rabbit – большой североамериканский заяц
landslide – 1) оползень, обвал; 2) решающая победа (на выборах)
mailbox – почтовый ящик
mushroom (v) – быстро расти
poker-faced – с непроницаемым лицом
prairie chicken – луговой тетерев
profiteering – погоня за прибылями, доходами
rodeo – соревнования ковбоев
room (v) – болеть за команду
roomette – небольшое купе
selectman – чиновник местного самоуправления
stopover – остановка в пути
street-car – трамвай
superette – небольшой магазин
swamp-sparrow – американский вид воробья
teaberry – американское вечнозеленое растение с белыми цветами и
ароматными красными ягодами
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third house – закулисные законодатели
trail – тропа, проложенная через девственный лес
trouble-shooter – человек, к услугам которого прибегают в критических
ситуациях
tuxedo – смокинг
vacation – отпуск
vacationist, vacationer –отпускник
vacationland – курорт
workout – тренировка

List 3. Words Having Different Meanings in America and Britain

Word Meaning
in America in Britain
apartment квартира большая комната
calculate предполагать, считать
calico ожидать
ситец коленкор
commute жить за городом и обменивать (одну вещь на
ездить на работу в другую)
город
corn кукуруза зерно; пшеница
crash авария, крушение грохот, треск
dessert любое сладкое десерт; фрукты
lunch блюдо время
любое к обедуеды завтрак
outfit группа людей снаряжение,
обмундирование
pie пирог с верхом из пирог с начинкой
начинки
tardy запоздалый медлительный

List 4. American Counterparts of English Words

British American Meaning

autumn fall осень
barrow pushcart тачка
billfold note-case бумажник
biscuit cookie печенье
boot-lace shoe-string шнурок для ботинок
cotton-wool absorbent cotton вата
draughts checkers шашки
express post special delivery срочное почтовое

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 отправление
tap faucet кран
galoshes rubbers, overshoes галоши
gramophone phonograph граммофон

government administration правительство

inland post domestic mail почта внутри страны
inquiry office information bureau справочное бюро

interval intermission антракт (в театре)

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 Библиографический список

1. Антрушина, Г. Б. Лексикология английского языка / Г. Б. Антрушина, О.

В. Афанасьева, Н. Н. Морозова. – М.: Юрайт, 2015. – 288 с.
2. Арнольд, И. В. Лексикология современного английского языка / И. В.
Арнольд. – М.: Флинта, 2012. – 376 с.
3. Голикова, Ж.А. Лексикология и фразеология современного английского
языка / Ж.В.Голикова. – Мн.: Новое знание, 2006. – 205 с.
4. Зыкова, И.В. Практический курс английской лексикологии =A Practical
Course in English Lexicology/И.В. Зыкова. – M.: Издательский центр
«Академия», 2008. – 288 с.
5. Кульгавова, Л.В. Учебно-практические материалы по дисциплине
«Лексикология английского языка»/ Л.В. Кульгавова. – Иркутск: ИГЛУ,
2005. – 587 с.
6. Crystal D, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language/ D.Crystal. –
Cambridge University Press, UK, 2004.
7. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English. – New York: Oxford
University Press, 2011.
8. Hornby A.S. Oxford Students‘ Dictionary of Current English. – Oxford
University Press, 2010. – 769 p.
9. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary URL: http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk.
10.Corpus of Contemporary American English URL:
http://www.corpus.byu.edu/coca/.
11.Kemmer, S. Lexical Blending: An Integrated View, with Implications for
Morphology / Suzanne Kemmer // First Landau International Symposium. –
2000. – March.
12.Merriam-Webster Dictionary URL:http:// merriam-webster.com/mw/.

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 Федорюк Анжелика Викторовна

A Coursebook on Modern English Lexicology

Учебное пособие для студентов вузов.
Издается в авторской редакции

Подписано в печать . Формат 60×84 1/16.

Усл.- печ.л. 13 Тираж 100 экз. Заказ Цена договорная.

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