Literary words of Eng. vocabulary.
Literary words: bookish words, terms, archaisms, historical words, neologisms, barbarisms.
1) Bookish words are mainly borrowings from Latin & Greek. They constitute the majority of elevated words. They are used in formal situations such as public speeches, political discourses & in books. Bookish words are usually the formal synonyms of neutral words. For ex.: individual=man, repose = rest.
2) Terms denote diff. notions referred to science, technique, art. They contain only 1 component of connotation which is stylistic. Their normal sphere of application is scientific roles & publicistic texts. They do not perform any stylistic function. If terms are used in other texts, they play a specific stylistic role. In fiction, terms are used to create a true-to-life background & characterize people thought their speech.
3) Archaisms – words which are no longer used in modern English. Among them there are archaic forms, which are gram.forms of words. There are archaic words proper. They were in use in OE & since then they have either dropped out-of-use all together or have changed beyond recognition. F.ex. Belike = perhaps.
4) Historical wordswhich denotedrareness of objects & phenomena which has disappeared in our life. Archaisms & historical words are present in historical novels. They create a special atmosphere of the given part period, so called historical color. In dialogues archaisms & hist. words are used for speech characterization. No books are written only with archaisms. They are used also in Modern official & solemn terms of these texts.
5) Neologisms denote new objects & phenomena. They may be subdivided into lexical & stylistic. Lexical neologisms denote new concepts & objects: hoolivan, garbology. ??
Stylistic n-sms give new names to exciting notions & objects. They are created for expressiveness. Sometimes N. appear due to the violation of word building rules which make them more expressive. N. are often occasional words under…. able only in context they are individual creations which serve in the render of humour, irony or to achieve greater expressiveness. “I used to call her “hypo” because she was a hypocrite ….
6) Barbarisms were borrowed into Eng. not long ago. & have preserved their original form. They haven’t under gone the phonetic adaptation and their spelling, pronunciation still feel foreign.
Ex. Peid-a-terre, faux pas(simple mistake of behavior).
B. is speech point to the high social, cultural, educational level of a speaker. Besides there is some elegance delicacy about some B. and they make speech more exquisite & refined. They may be employed to mitigate the meaning of the neutral or coloq. synonyms: “He made a faux pas”(he made a mistake).
7) Sometimes we can come across foreign words in the text. They point to the foreign origin of the speaker or they can create the background of the foreign country. The use of foreign words at the beginning of the text produces an expression that the whole text is uttered in a foreign language.
SIMILE is a trope based on the analogy between 2 things which are discovered to have some common feature, otherwise being absolutely different.
E.g. “Oh, my love is like a red rose.”
The usual structure of simile is the pair of objects that are compared & a connective (as…as; like…) which may be expressed by prepositions, conjunctions, adverbs, verbs, suffixes (like, as, as if, as though, such as, to seem, to resemble, to remind, -like, -wise, -ish). E.g. “She was so spring-like &golden.”
Simile shouldn’t be confused with ordinary logical comparisons. Simile compares objects belonging to absolutely different classes, while the comparisons deal with the things of the same class. The function is to establish a degree of their similarity of difference. E.g. He was a big man, as big as Simon, but with sandy hair & blue eyes.
Simile includes all qualities of the objects except the one which is the ground of comparison. E.g. “Like an English garden she was a little old-fashioned.”
In the course of the time some frequently used similes lose their expressiveness & function as idioms. Such similes are called “dead” or “trite”. E.g. Pretty as a picture. Easy as ABC. White as sheet. In fiction dead similes mostly occur in dialogs to characterize a person through his speech.
Poetic similes are mostly used in descriptions.
METAPHOR is a new nomination of the object which has its name already.
Like a simile it’s also based upon some kind of similarity between the tenor & the vehicle. Some linguists consider metaphor to be a hidden simile, but despite some similarity, the 2 tropes differ both structurally & semantically.
E.g. He(t) is dirty(gr) like(con) a pig(vhc).He is like a pig.He is a pig.That pig messed the room.
Structurally, the metaphor does not contain a connective to show the similarity between the tenor & vehicle.
Semantically, simile is more definite than metaphor. It clearly shows the relations between the tenor & vehicle. In a metaphor, the tenor is often implied, not stated directly.
E.g. Cobra is back.
He was a harmless praying – Mantis.
Linguistically, the metaphor can be defined as the deviation from conventional collocation (традиц-е словосоч-е)
E.g. The last colors of sunset were dripping over the edge of the last world.
Conventionally, “drip” goes with nouns denoting liquids such as water, rain, … But the noun “sun” doesn’t fit this class of nouns. Its combination with the verb “drip” is unexpected, unusual.
There is a distinction between a poetic & dead metaphor.
Poetic m. is based upon some new & striking analogy between a tenor & vehicle. It’s an individual creation & arouses certain associations only with a definite context.
Dead m. is a commonly reproduced lexical unit. It doesn’t arouse associations. It mostly reflects collective knowledge & experience.
E.g. Flood of tears. Rain of hope. Time flies. Path winds.
A dead m. may be revived if it’s placed in such a context, where it realizes both the metaphorical & direct meaning. E.g. He represented a fountain of knowledge from which I drunk greedily.
Besides, metaphor may be classified into simple & extended / prolonged.
A simple m. is expressed by 1 word – a noun, adjective, adverb, verb. E.g. pearly teeth; the leaves fell sorrowfully; slings & arrows of fortune.
His heart seemed to burn & melt away in his wrest.
An extended m. is expressed by several words, all of which are used in a transferred sense. They are interconnected & create a simple complex image. E.g. In November a cold, unseen stranger, whim the doctors called Pneumonia, stalked about the colony, touching one here & there with his icy fingers.
Metaphor’s function is to create images & through them reveal the author’s emotional attitudes towards the object matter.
Personification is a variety of metaphor, when a lifeless object is represented like a human being or a life creature. Usual signals of personification in the context are:
1) the use of personal pronouns with reference to lifeless things;
2) the writing of the word denoting a personified object with the capital letter;
3) direct address to the object which is personified (e.g. Pneumonia)
Personification is widely used in romantism to create a pathetic & emotional mood. In modern literature it’s used rarely & mostly to show humor & irony.
METONYMY. The relations between the tenor & vehicle in Metonymy is that of contiguity. Contrary to metaphor, in Metonymy there is an objectively existing relationship between the tenor & vehicle.
The types of relationships:
1) the object may stand for the user
E.g. Their sacs(sacsafon players) has flew today.
2) the play stands for the event
E.g. Will Afghanistan be Obama’s Vietnam?
3) the institution stands for people responsible
E.g. The Senate thinks that abortion is immoral.
4) the result may stand for the cause & the cause – for the result
E.g. Grey hair is not always respected.
The author flings his pen coarsely.
5) the instrument stands for the action
E.g. Friends, lend me your ears (=listen to me)
6) the container stands for the thing it contains
E.g. The kettle boils.
7) the abstract noun stands for the concrete one or contrary
E.g. Labour is demonstrated in the street.
8) material stands for the thing made of it
E.g. A shower of steel fell on the trenches.
9) the name of the creator stands for his creation
E.g. He bought a Ford
Synechdoche is based on quantitative relations between the tenor & vehicle. It’s when a part stands for a whole, or a whole stands for a part. E.g. Red Cap. Blue Beard. White-callers?(=office workers). The hat went away.
Antono'masia based on the interplay between the logical and nominal meanings of the word. Nominal meaning characterizes definite &singular beings and things. In grammar this words are classified as proper words. A. is a use of a proper name for a common name/contrary. 2 types: 1)metonymic & 2)metaphoric.
1. When the name of some place stands for the event that happened there. The name of some establishment is used for it's policy. Things are called after inventors. Geographical names denote things ordinary from there.(Champagne.)
2. Metaphorical A. 2 types:
1) When a proper name stands for a common noun. Proper name reveals the most striking feature of a character’s personality. E.g. He is an Othello.
2) Any common noun may be used as a proper name. The type is always original, the person is name serves his characteristic.
The appeal of imagination in metonymy is weaker than that of metaphor, but it's also a powerful means of poetic expression. It can pick out one picturesque picture of a complex thing or phenomenon and characterize it concisely.
EPITHET – attributive characterization of the thing, phenomenon, person.
Morphologically & syntactically it can be classified into simple epithet, holophrases, inverted epithets.
Simple ep. consists of simple word, which may be expressed by an adjective in pre- or post- position of a noun, adverb & noun in the off-phrase. E.g. An angry sunshine. Carrying himself strange & soldiery. Sleep of death.
Holophrases. In the Eng. literature there exist epithets expressed by the phrase or whole sentence. The words of these sentences are high-phonated. E.g. My best understanding-grown-up-sister-but-still-pretty-cool. She gave her a you–know–what–men–are look.
Inverted ep. is based on the illogical syntactical relations between the modifier & the modified word. It’s typical of colloquial speech & widely used in literature. E.g. “Sleep of death” => inverted - “his claw of a hand”. I know what that fool of a doctor said.
Semantical epithets can be classified into: 1) associated with a noun, 2) unassociated with a noun.
Associated ep. point to a feature which is typical of the object they describe. E.g. Dark forest. Fantastic terrors. Careful attention.
Unassociated ep. characterize the feature which is unusual & unexpected for the reader & listener. E.g. Voiceless sands. Heart-burning smiles.
Epithets may be also transferred & metaphorical.
Transferred ep. are based upon metonymy. E.g. A sleepless pillow. A disapproving finger.
Metaphorical ep. is based upon metaphor, upon analogy between what is said & what is implied. E.g. Laughing valleys. Angry sky.
Epithets, on the whole, show an individual vision of the speaker. They do not characterize objects of phenomena objectively, but present them as they appear to the speaker.
HYPERBOLE – the expression of the idea in a very exaggerated language. E.g. I’d cross the world to find you a pin(булавка). Function of it is either to create an elevated mood or convey irony.
The opposite device is Understatement – expression of the idea in a very restrained(сдержанный) language. The function of und. is mostly to render irony & satire, though sometimes it may be a characteristic feature of the author’s general restrained tone.
OXYMORON is a device which present a combination of contrasting ideas. The usual structure is: EPITHET + NOUN it modifies. E.g. Glad terror. Selfishly unselfish. Sweet sorrow.
The other type is presented by VERB + NOUN / NOUN + VERB. E.g. He had lived a very long time with death & was a little detached.
In Ox. one of the components expresses some objectively existing feature while the other conveys the speaker’s subjective attitude towards it. E.g. Parting for lovers is always a sweet sorrow.
In the coarse of time some frequently used Ox. become dead & lexicalized. It functions as intensifier. E.g. pretty bad, mighty small, frightfully happy.
PERIPHRASIS – unit of poetic speech which both describe the names. It’s usually a descriptive phrase which is used to substitute a conventional name of the thing or person. It shows an individual attitude of the speaker & picks out those features of the object which are relevant for this very context. E.g. Napoleon arrived at the Palace. – The Conquer Of Austria was in high spirits.
P. may be classified into poetic & dead.
Poetic P. are created by individual authors & are understandable only in the context. Poetic P. may be logical & figurative.
· Logical P. are based n a certain prominent feature of the object described. E.g. Instrument of destruction = guns. Taker of lives = murderer.
· Figurative P. is based either on metaphor or metonymy. E.g. young blood = enthusiastic, the undiscovered country = world after death. “I kept still & close to the tree like a hunted peace of nature, willing myself to be the color of bark & leaves & rain.
Dead P. are part of the general vocabulary & are understandable for everyone. E.g. men = strong sex, women = weak sex, policy = guardians of public.
The function of P. is usually to produce a humorous or ironic effect.
EUPHEMISM – a variety of Periphrasis, but of a special type; - it’s a word or a phrase which substitutes the other direct name of the object, because the speaker finds it unpleasant. Eu. can be classified into 3 groups:
1) traditional religious & moral Eu. – they have been more in use & now they are dead. It’s all the notions connected with religion & some aspects of human life. E.g. * to death = to pass away, took expire, to join the silent majority, to depart, to be no more,… * God-Lord, Goodness, Love, Heaven, devil- deuce , Old Nick, Old Harry, hell, the other place, a very comfortable place; * toilet – cloak-room, john.
2) political & medical Eu. They are widely used in Mass Media & political discourse. They are used to hide the unpleasant reality. They are usually misleading(вводят в заблужд.) E.g. poor people = less-fortuned people, unemployment = building up of labour deserves, patient died = a negative patient care outcome.
3) individual Eu. point by writers & journalists to show an ind. attitude which is usually ironic or humorous. E.g. This is today & adultery is no longer called adultery, but extra-marital(вне брака) sex.
ZEUGMA – a figure of speech which consists minimally of 3 elements: one main element & 2 dependent ones. The dependent el-s form combinations with the main element & there appear incompatible phrases within one sentence. The dependent elements belong to the same part of speech, but to different semantic classes. The main element can be understood in several meanings in the same context.
Word-combinations in Zeugma sound uncommon & illogical, because the word-combinations are based on different grammatical, syntactical & lexical relations. E.g. * Either you or your head must be off. * She possessed two false teeth & a sympathetic heart. * She washed clothes with industry & soap.
With its tendency forward the absurd Zeugma contributes to a humorous effect.
PUN(каламбур) is based upon a simultaneous realization of 2 meanings in the same context.
Pun may be built upon: 1) single polysemantic word E.g. Nowadays we are all of us so hard up, that the only pleasant things to pay are complements. They are the only things we can pay. 2) partial or complete homonyms E.g. lesson, lessen.
However, playful the effect of pun may be in a truly talented work, it’s not only a decoration, but an important device which serves to express the author’s thought.
IRONYis based on a contrast between what is said and what is implied. Some linguists consider irony to be hidden negation. E.g. It must be delightful to find oneself in a foreign country without a penny in one’s packed.
Irony can be understood in 2 senses: narrow & broad. In a narrow sense irony is a use of a word with a positive connotation to express one’s negative attitude. The word contradicts the context & acquires the meaning contrary to its usual one.
Some words & phrases has a fixed ironic connotations, registered in dictionaries. E.g. A wise guy – умник, a smart Alec, the battle of books, a young hopeful.
The majority of words develop an ironic connotation in a certain context due to peculiar ways of combining words. E.g. It’s naturally led to some pleasant chart about fevers, lung diseases, etc.
In a broad sense, irony is created by the discrepancy between form & context. For example, when a trivial situation is retold in a formal style with the use of bookish words & terms. The representation of a situation in an exaggerated way contributes ironic sense. The type may be ironical, but its irony is proceeded only after having read the whole text. E.g. A devoted friend.
Paradox – statement based on contrast, that contradicts some self-evidence of proverbial truth. E.g. *In married life three is a component and two is a numb. *Wine costs money. Blood costs nothing.
The appeal of the Paradox. is that however contradictory it may seem to some truism it always contains a certain grain of truth, which helps to express the author’s satire.