A course of modern english lexicology

3. Dialect words
There are certain regional forms of the English language in which dialect words appear. The British dialects are Northern, Midland, Eastern, Western, Southern; the American dialects are Northern, Midland, Southern.
For the United Kingdom received pronunciation (RP) is considered to be the standard, for the USA it is Uniform American English (Californian English).
The interaction of stylistically-coloured and stylistically-neutral words in one and the same context may cause different stylistic effects.
When a super-neutral word is placed in a stylistically-neutral context, it gives the latter either an elevated colouring or a humorous effect, depending on the subject of speech.
When a sub-neutral word is placed in a neutral context, it lowers the stylistic value of the latter. When a sub-neutral word is placed in a super-neutral context or vice-versa, it almost always produces a humorous effect.

neutral words : house, milk, dog, cat, to walk, to run; scientific prose : dialectical, emphasize, empirical; “officialese” : hereinafter, de jure, de facto; literary words : heritage, hierarchy, cordial; modes of poetic diction : woe, realm, soliloquy; archaisms : albeit (although it be that), clad (to clothe), thy (your); professional terminology : performance rating, feasibility study; colloquial : dad, chap, freezer, ain’t; slang : cutie, undies, jaw-breaker.

QUESTIONS TO LECTURE #2

1. What are stylistically-neutral words? Give your examples.
2. What are stylistically-coloured words?
3. What groups do stylistically super-neutral words fall into?
4. What is another name for “bookish” words?
5. What types of archaisms do you know?
6. What is professional terminology?
7. What groups do stylistically sub-neutral words fall into?
8. What is the difference between colloquial words and dialect words?
9. Decide which groups the following words belong to: sylvan, billow, consequence, to cut classes, ouch, to kid.
10. Give your own examples of words belonging to different groups.
11. What kind of stylistic effects can interaction between stylistically-neutral and stylistically-coloured words in the same context produce?
12. Paraphrase the text from Supplement 2.