Contents introduction chapter I. General principals of english vocabulary

CHAPTER I. GENERAL PRINCIPALS OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY
1.1. Etymology of English vocabulary
By analyzing related languages with a technique known as thecomparative method, linguists can make inferences about their shared parent language and its vocabulary. In this way,word rootshave been found that can be traced all the way back to the origin of, for instance, theIndo-Europeanlanguage family.Even though etymological research originally grew from thephilologicaltradition, much current etymological research is done onlanguage familieswhere little or no early documentation is available, such asUralicandAustronesian.The wordetymologyderives from the Greek wordἐτυμολογία(etumología), itself fromἔτυμον(étumon), meaning "true sense", and the suffix-logia, denoting "the study of". Etymolog is a branch of linguistics that studies the origin and history of words tracing them to their earliest determinable source. ----Anative wordis a word,which belongs to the original English word stock, as known from the earliest available manuscripts of the Old English period. A borrowed word(a borrowing, or a loan word) is a word taken over from another language and modified in phonemic shape, spelling, paradigm or meaning according to the standards of the English language.
Etymology – is a branch of Linguistics studying the origin of words, their change and development, their linguistic and extra-linguistic forces modifying their structure, meaning and usage. The term “Etymology” is derived from the Greek word – “etymon” – which means the true, original meaning of a word. According to the etymological principle the English vocabulary is usually divided into two uneven classes: native words which make up about 30% of the English vocabulary and borrowed words which make up about 70% of the English vocabulary.
Native words are words which belong to the original word stock. Words adopted from foreign languages are known as borrowed words, or loan words, or borrowings. Though native words constitute only about 30% of the English vocabulary they make up the greatest part of the basic word stock (лексикологическое ядро словаря).
The Basic Word Stock – is the stable stork of the most frequently used three or four thousand words which constitute the core of the vocabulary, preserving the national peculiarities of the language. The changes in the Basic Word Stork are very slow and not easily perceptible.
Native words have a higher frequency value than most of the borrowings. They occur in any spoken or written speech forming the foundation and framework of the English language, e.g. words of native origin include most of the conjunctions, numerals, prepositions, pronouns and strong verbs, the definite and indefinite articles are also of native origin.
The native element in modern English is mostly monosyllabic but as for their meanings they are usually polysemantic. They show great word building power and make up the majority of proverbs and set expressions, e.g. water – to water, watery, waterproof, waterfall, “blood is thicker than water” (свой своего не обидит); milk – milky way, milkman - “ it’s no use crying over spilt milk” etc.
According to their origin native words may be divided into 3 groups:
Indo-European
Common German (общегерманские)
Specifically English or English words proper
Native words of the Indo-European origin are the oldest. They have correlated words in different Indo-European languages: Romanic, Slavonic, Germanic and even in Sanskrit. Here belong such words as: father, mother, son, daughter, brothe, sister; sun, moon, star, wind, water, wood, hill, stone, night, day; goose, wolf, cow, tree, corn, bull; ear, tooth, eye, foot, heart, lip, nose; hard, quick, slow, red, white, new, glad, sad; 1-100; I, you, he, my, that, who; to bear, to do, to be, to sit, to stand, to eat.
Native words of the Common Germanic Stock have parallels in the languages of the Germanic group only: Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic etc. but not in Russian, French or Italian. They constitute a larger part of the native words in English. Here belong such words as: head, arm, finger, hand, bone; summer, winter, spring, time, week; storm, rain, flood, ice, ground, sea, earth, land; bridge, house, bench, boat, ship, shop, room, coal, iron, lead, cloth, fur; hat, shirt, shoe; care, evil, hope, life, need; sheep, horse, fox, crow, oak, grass, bear; broad, dead, deaf, deep, grey, blue, green, high, old, good; down, out, before; all, each, self, such, here, there, near; to go, to tell, to speak, to say, to answer, to see, to hear, to drink, to sing, to make, to learn, to have, to rise, to bake, to burn, to buy, to drive, to keep, to meet, to send, to shoot.
The 3rd group of native words is represented by the so-called English words proper which have no cognates or parallels in other languages. They are: boy, girl, lady, lord, daisy, always, woman, bird, word.
Words, like facts, are difficult to remember out of context. Remembering is greatly facilitated when you have a body of information with which to associate either a word or a fact. For words, interesting origins or histories will help provide a context. For example, a hippopotamus is a "river horse," from the Greek hippos, meaning "horse," and potamos, meaning "river."
Indiana is called the Hoosier state, and its people Hoosiers. Why? In the early days, the pioneers were gruff in manner; when someone knocked at the front door, a pioneer's voice would often boom, "Who's yere?"
If you were offered a Hobson's choice, would you know what was meant? Thomas Hobson owned a livery stable in seventeenth-century England. He loved his horses, and to prevent any one horse from being overworked, he hired them out in turn, beginning with stall number one. Customers had to take the horses they were given. Thus Hobson's choice means no choice at all.
Etymology is the study of the origins of words. The English language is living and growing. Although many of our words have been part of our language for many years, new words are added all the time. Following are various ways our language is influenced. Derived from Foreign Words - English, in many cases, has been commonly expanded by incorporating foreign words into it. Most of our language has ancient Anglo-Saxon or Latin origins. Other languages have also added to our vocabularies.
Additions through Technology & Products - Our words often reflect current interests, trends, and innovations. One of the most recent contributors to our language has been computer technology, which has created words such as bytes, monitor, and disk. Another way new words come into our language is through the development of products. Some examples include: Kleenex, Walkman, Scotch tape, Xerox, and Linoleum. People's Names - sometimes when a person invents or introduces something, that thing becomes associated with the person's name. The person, through time, is forgotten while the name lives on in our language. Examples include:
mesmerize - F.A. Mesmer, an Austrian doctor and hypnotist.
sideburns - an American English alteration of burnsides, Ambrose E. Burnside, a Union general.
Words from Letters - The initials for the names of things may actually come to replace the names. The initials become the words that represent the thing, concept, or group. The following are examples of words that have developed from initials.
TV - TeleVision
DWI - Driving While Intoxicated
COD - Cash On Delivery
ZIP - Zone Improvement Plan
Word Histories - Some words also have interesting histories. Learning the stories behind the meanings is a good way to learn those words. The following examples will give you an idea of how history can affect language.
footman - It was once thought to bring bad luck if a person stepped on the door threshold when entering a house. Rich people hired a servant to stand at their doors. His job was to guard against a guest's stepping on the threshold. The guard became known as a footman.
hooker - A synonym for prostitute. The term became popular during the Civil War. The women involved were camp followers. General "Fighting Joe" Hooker approved their presence in order to boost the morale of his men.
Both literary and colloquial words have their upper and lower ranges. The lower range of literary words approaches the neutral layer and has a markedly obvious tendency to pass into that layer. The same may be said of the upper range of the colloquial layer: it can very easily pass into the neutral layer. The lines of demarcation between common colloquial and neutral, on the one hand, and common literary and neutral, on the other, are blurred. It is here that the process of interpenetration of the stylistic strata becomes most apparent.