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Archais~ Diachronic lexical strata are conditioned either by their oldness or by their youth with reference to a given moment

or period of language development. Archaisms (=ancient, primitive) are words, meanings or phrases that have disappeared from the language. These are lexical archaismS. Forms, constmctions and grammaticalized words that have dropped from the language may be said to be grammatical archaisms. taketh = take.. e.g. It is I - the old form for If is me Words which are today spelt or sounded differently in comparison with an earlier period are said to be phonetic archaisms. e.g. thy --+your; thou flkest= you take 1. Absolute archaisms are lexical, granmlatical or phonetic units that have disappeared from the language altogether. They denote objects, phenomena, actions, relations, qualities etc tllat have not lost tlleir use but have been replaced by equivalents, historical synonyms. e.g. forward (= promise); more better (= better or much better) 2. Relative archaisms are used in functional styles, in dialects. They are represented by potential archaisms and historisms. a) Potential archaisms denote objects, phenomena, actions, relations etc that haven't lost their use while their currency has become limited because they have been replaced by more up-to-date equivalents. e.g. Afric (= Mrican), eld (=antiquity; old age); ere (before); eve (evening);haply (= by chance, accidentally), mom (= morning) Official style makes use of specific archaisms such as: hereof (= of this), thereafter (= after that, afterwards), whereof (= of which) etc. b) Historisms once denoted objects, phenomena, actions etc gradually disappeared from man's life (as a result of the evolution of human society) preserving but a historicaldocumentary value: e.g. witan (in the Anglo-Saxon period = council)
gleeman (in the Anglo-Saxon period

= wandering

minstrel)

sept (= an old Irish clan or tribe) bard (= an ancient Celtic poet, composer and singer) Neolo!!isms are new words, meanings or phrases introduced into the language by ordinary channels (borrowings, derivation, composition etc) at a given moment and remaining in the condition of neologism only for a time, as long as they are still felt as new. Neologisms are retained by the language if they are felt as necessary. This necessity of introducing new words or phrases into a language is generally determined by the continuous evolution of human society in various fields. e.g. contact lens; social engineering (a process 'of reorganizing society or a new basis) The stock of neologisms is permanently enriched by terms, a special category of words denoting scientific and technical notions, e.g. imperforation; motor-shaft; marsupial Usually the circulation of terms is limited. A number of terms, on the contrary are very widely c~rculated. e.g. television, sPaceships, radar etc

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Denotation and connotation Words ~II9te Qbjects, phenomena,gll~itie~, relations etc. (\'\~Ilpg,\= an object = (n); to work = an action (vb); beautiful = a quality (adj)) These meanings of words may be said to be obiective and impersonal, as they have been fixed in the language of people, and intellective as they appeal to the intellect. The objective, impersonal and intellective meaning of a word is called its denotation. (Denotation refers to the literal meaning of a word). Many words are not only denotations of obj ects, phenomena etc. They also stand for the feelings which, as a result of social and personal experience, have been attached to them. The subiective, personal and emotive extra-meaning of a word is called its connotation. (Connotation refers to the associations that are connected to a certain word or the emotional suggestions related to that word). e.g. He feels like a fish out of water. Denotation = He feels like a fish that is not in water any more. Connotation = He feels uncomfortable. International words and barbarisms International words are words which have gained currency in different languages while preserving one and the same meaning. Most of them denote notions referring to science, culture, politics etc. They are usually of Greek, Latin, French origin and one of their distinctive features is the facility with which they can be understood and translated. e.g. bacteria, bacilli, microbes, academy, communication, civilization, economy, laser, film, president, telephone, television, tourist, opera, music, atomic etc. Barbarisms (Gk. barbar - foreign + ismos) are words and phrases taken especially from Latin, French, Italian, and German and used in their native form. (They are usually treated as neologisms, but many of them have been used by English spealcers for a long time.) Examples: ab initio -'from the beginning'; ad literam -'literally'; erratum - 'error correction'; alter ego - 'a second self; sans souci (pI.) - 'without care'

False friends Are words apparently identical with some Romanian words while actually they mean different thing. As the form of words is similar (or almost similar) both in English and in Romanian, one is inclined to use an English term with its Romanian meaning, or VIce versa: e.g. abstract = 1. abstracp.e, abstractiune, termen abstract; 2. rezumat amplitude = 1. amplitudine; 2. abunden!a, bel~ug; 3. orizont, spa!iu mtins character = 1. caracter; 2. reputap.e; 3. recomandare scrisa, caracterizare; 4. personaj; 5. om original, excentric; 6. calitate (in character of a friend = ca prieten) civil = 1. civil, civic; 2. politicos, binecrescllt comfort ==1. confort; 2. mangaiere, sprijin; 3.lini~te, odihna concert = musical entertainment, hannony, agreement influenza= contagious fever illness J

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