Seminar 1

WORD PLAY
1) Suggest situations, give examples, of ways in which these phrases might be used: pull a fast one, pull
rank, pull your weight, pull a face, pull someone/something to pieces, pull someones leg.
2) How can you get from sick to well by changing one letter at a time (each move must produce an English
word)?
3) What kind of person would you call butterfingers?
4) Time, gentlemen, please! What time?
5) Which of the following words go together? Make two or three groups of words and say what the
members of each group have in common: car, lorry, station wagon, coach, van, truck.
6) What is half the battle? What kind of idea is half-baked? Why are flags flown half-mast? What do we
do if we go halves? What kind of action is half-hearted?
7) In Britain you can eat and drink in a cafe, a restaurant, and sometimes in a pub. Do you know what the
difference is?
8) What is a hard-and-fast rule? How do you cook a hard-boiled egg? What do we mean when we say
that someone is hard-boiled? Where would you find the hard shoulder? What is hardback? Are you
hard of hearing?
9) Some word endings (suffixes) can also be used at the beginning of words (prefixes) For example, nail
may be added to the end of the word finger or to the beginning of the word brush, to make the new
words fingernail and nailbrush. Can you find one word which can connect writing and knife in the same
way?
1o) Have you ever carried something too far? What does this expression mean?
11) Choose make or do in each of the following sentences:
a) I cant come just yet. I have to make/do the washing up.
b) I didnt have time to make/do the bed before I went to work.
c) The children were making/doing faces at the other car drivers.
d) Jessica decided to have nothing more to make/do with George.
e) Were staying late at the office to make/do the accounts.
11) What colour can you add to the following words to make new ones: belt, fingers, horn, house, light?
12) Can you think of a word meaning rubbish which sounds the same as a word referring to part of the
human body?
13) Where in a house might you find a head and a foot? Where else?
14) Which of the following expressions is incorrect, and what should it be? She goes to work by bus/by
train/by taxi/by foot/by car.
15) What have these places in common: hostel/hall of residence/bed-sitter/home?
16) What have these in common: club, diamond, heart, spade?

17) Think of four sentences using the word ground in different senses.
18) 8...9...10...out! If someone is saying this to you, you probably dont feel very well. Why?
19) Who sits on the front bench? Who is in the front line? Why might you hold the front page? Who is
the front-runner?
20) How many combinations of these words could be used to fill the blanks in the sentence below?
call, put, end, stop, halt. I am determined to ..... a(n) ......to this silliness.
21) Find the missing words: ready, steady,.....; red, amber,......; Tom, Dick and ......; lock, stock and .....
. Suggest situations in which these phrases might be used.
22) Who is the best man at a wedding? What is his task?
23) What do the following words mean: short circuit, shortcoming, shortfall, short list, shortbread,
shorthand?
24) How would you use these expressions: like a fish out of water, have other fish to fry, fishing for
compliments, to sound or smell fishy?
25) John married Peter and his sister. If no laws were broken, what can you say about John?
26) What do the following words mean: double bass, doubles, double bed, double-edged, double-decker,
double-glazing?
27) Which word would complete all of these sentences?
a) John was on the top of the.............
b) Mary thinks the......of Stephen.
c) I thought the film was out of this .....
d) What in the.......is the answer?
27) Get from fish to meat by changing one letter at a time.
28) What are crocodile tears?
29) Which of these sentences is incorrect and why? We had a discussion about students grants / We
discussed about students grants.
30) What letters are used to represent musical notes?
31) Explain the terms: cold-blooded, cold-hearted, cold feet, cold shoulder.
32) Name as many colours as you can.
33) Which word would complete all of these sentences?
a) Think......of it.
d) Ill do ......... of the kind.
b) It costs next to .......
e) Thats ......... to do with me.
c) Theres....... for it now.
f) You aint ...... but a hound dog.
34) Write sentences to show the difference in meaning between the following verbs: dress, dress in, dress
up.

35) How many words can you add to high to give special meanings?
36) What do these crimes involve: arson, fraud, theft, embezzlement, burglary, treason?
37) What can you keep, break, eat, be taken at, be as good as?
38) What is the longest word in the English language?
39) If your mind turns to another kettle of fish, is it because you are hungry?
4o) How are the following verbs used in the sentences below: pay for, pay off, pay up, pay into?
a) When she realized she had to return the money she decided to ....... at once.
b) If you wish, we can ....... The money straight ... your account.
c) If you supply the food, Ill ... the drinks.
d) His work was terrible, so after a week we decided to ...... him ......
41) Where would you live if you were of no fixed abode?
42) Name some other areas of water of these kinds: pond, stream .....
43) What can you kill, pass, do, spend, and waste?
44) Which of these sentences are acceptable and which are not?
a) I tried to explain the meaning of the phrase to them.
b) I tried to explain them the meaning of the phrase.
c) What explanation on this can you offer?
d) What explanation of this can you offer?
44) Say what you know about these creatures: fairy, witch, wizard, gnome, dwarf, goblin?
45) You make me .... / Im ........and tired of your nonsense./ Im worried ..... about you.
Well, whats the word?
46) Which words connect the following: a typewriter and a prison/ a tree and an elephant/ a book and a
knight/ a bicycle and an organ?
47) List what you would find on a university campus (apart from enlightenment).
48) Say why in your view, knowledge is like the following: a candle, a road, a loaf of bread, a knife?
49) Does a bylaw have anything to do with farewells?
5o) What can you turn on/off? What can you switch on/off? What can you open/shut?
51) What are the following: open-and-shut case, open air, open season, open secret, open house, open
question?
52) Can you think of a word for physical which can also refer to an army rank?
53) Where would you choose to sit in a theatre: stalls, circle, gallery or box? Why?

54) Explain the differences between the following words: notice, stare at, glimpse, glare at, view, catch
sight of?
55) Keep your ....... s crossed.
She has a .....in every pie.
Ive been working my .........s to the bone.
Dont you dare lay a ......... on him.
Mind you dont burn your .........s.
He can twist them round his little ........
It helps to have the facts at your........tips.
Im all ...... and thumbs.
56) If we look carefully at certain sentences we can find hidden words. For example, America is hidden in:
Wheres the jam? Eric asked.
Now try to find three islands in the following sentences:
a) the first keeps its secret ever so well.
b) In the second youll find an animal tamed.
c) You neednt feel badly about the third.
57) What word is missing from the following sentences?
a) Its enough to make your ........stand on end.
b) Come on, let you ...... down.
c) She didnt turn a .......
d) Dont split .......s.
Seminar 2
Exercises
1) Divide the following words into the component morphemes. Use hyphens and the traditional spelling,
according to the model:
MODEL: enlighten
en - light - en
a) impoverish
i) utilitarianism
b) anticipative
j) catchword
c) anticlimatical
k) impermeability
d) dishearten
l) vertebrally
e) burlesquely
m) downtowner
f) dishonestly
n) telescopic
g) undeceivable
o) sanitize
h) wholesaler
p) volubility
2) Divide the words into their constituent morphemes, specifying the nature of each morpheme, according
to the model.
MODEL: impersonalism: im- = prefix, person = noun stem, -al = suffix, -ism = suffix
a) foolishly
i) glove maker
b) multinational
j) trans-European
c) deepen
k) vulgarism
d) rosy
l) non-didactic
e) beautify
m) preconceivable
f) industrialization
n) post-modernism
g) ex-president
o) overdone
h) impressionism
p) underestimated
3. List the types of morphemes and give examples for each of them.

4. Analyse the following words in terms of roots, stems, lexical suffixes, grammatical suffixes and prefixes.
Indicate the order in which morphemes appear within words.
MODEL: disagreements
a) agree = root; -ment = lexical (derivational) suffix; -s =
= prefix; disagreement = stem;
b) agree + -ment; dis- + agreement; disagreement + -s.
uneatable, productiveness, transformational, indecipherability

grammatical (inflectional) suffix; dis-

5. Some derived words consist of an affix attached to a stem which is itself a word, i.e. a free morpheme
(e.g. (i)). In other cases the stem is a bound morpheme (e.g.(ii)).
(i) Word + affix [[read]V er]N
(ii) Root + affix [[electris]Aity]N (the root electric- never appears as a word on its own).
For each of the nine relationships given below provide two affixes (prefixes or suffixes) which express that
category relationship. Choose your affixes such that one attaches to free morpheme roots and the other to
bound morpheme roots. For each affix give at least 2 words containing that affix with the given function.
This means that you have to provide 18 affixes and 36 words.
NV
VN
AN
NA
VA
AV
NN
VV
AA
(Hint: try looking through a book or newspaper and analysing all the words you suspect of being
derivationally complex).
6. Take a dictionary of English and collect all the words beginning with im- / in-. Check whether im- / in- is a
morpheme for each of your words. For instance, comparing input with output, you should conclude that inis a morpheme, whereas it should seem considerably harder to find evidence that in- is a morpheme in
inane.
a) How many distinct (homonymous) im-/ in- are there?
b) Why is input misspelled (as imput) so often?
7. Consider carefully the words in (a -c). To what extent do the words in a given list contain the same
morpheme?
a) analysis, anabasis, anachronism, analogy, anaconda, anabaptist, anarchy, anarak.
b) nominal, nominate, gnomic, nomic, nomenclature, noun.
c) pedal, peduncle, pediform, p(a)ederast, p(a)edagogue, peddle, pedant.
8. Analyze the words in sets (a-c) into their component morphemes. What problems do these words
present?
a) conceptual, criminal, managerial, professorial, residual, tidal.
b) anthropocentric, gastro-enteritis, Graeco-Roman, gynecologist, hypothetico-deductive, misanthropist,
misogynist, politico-economic.
c) Congolese, Javanese, Mancunian, Panamanian, Peruvian.
9. Complete:
An Adj P (adjectival phrase) consists of ............ and a possible .............. . An .......................consists of an
adverb and a ................... . A PP (prepositional phrase) consists of a noun phrase and a ....................
10. What do AdjP, AdvP and PP have in common?

Seminar 3
Diachronic approach - EXERCISES
1. What people inhabited the British Isles before the coming of the Anglo-Saxons?
2. Where did the Anglo-Saxons live on the Continent?
3. What was the influence of the Scandinavian settlement on the English language?
4. What was the chief influence of the Norman Conquest on the English language?
5. Divide the words into sets according to their meanings (e.g. domestic, household articles, etc.). Consider
what these sets of borrowed words might suggest about the relationship between the Germanic tribes and
the Romans.
Latin
OE
ModE
Latin
OE
ModE
balteus
belt
belt
mulus
mul
mule
benna
bin
bin
patina
panne
pan
episcopus
biscop
bishop
pisa
pise
pease/pea
butyrium
butere
butter
pulvinus
pyle
pillow
cattus
catt
cat
pinna
pinn
pin
calx
cealc
chalk
pipa
pipe
pipe (musical)
caseus
cese
cheese
puteus
pytt
pit
cuprum
copor
copper
prunum
plume
plum
cuppa
cuppe
cup
papaver
popig
poppy
discus
disc
dish
pondo
pund
pound (weight)
furca
forca
fork
bursa
purs
purse
uncia
ynce
inch
Saturni (dies) Sternes (dg)
Satur(day)
catillus
cetel
kettle
secula
sicol
sickle
cucina
cycene
kitchen
strata
strt
street
milea
mil
mile
tegula
tigele
tile
molinum
mylen
mill
telonium
toll
toll (tax)
moneta
mynet
mint
vallum
wall
wall
mortarium
mortere
mortar (vessel) vinum
win
wine
6. Use an atlas of England to identify towns and villages with place-names ending in the Scandinavian
suffixes:
a) by (town, farm)
b) thorp (e) (village)
c) -thwaite (piece of land)
d) toft (piece of loand).
If you find a sufficient number, and mark them on a blank map, you should find good evidence of the extent
of the Danelaw.
7. Below are four versions of one text. They date from 980, 1380, 1611, 1961.
a) Match the letters of the texts with the dates:
980 (Old English)
1380 (Middle English)
1611 (Early Modern English)
1961 (Modern English)
b) List some differences in vocabulary.
(A) Now his elder sonne was in the field, and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musicke &
dauncing, and he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said onto him,
Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calfe, because he hath received him safe and
sound.

(B) Solice his yldra sunu waes on aecere; and he com, and a he am huse genealaehte, he gehyrde
aene sweg and t wered. a clypode he anne eow, and acsode hine hwaet t awere. a cwae he,
in broor com, and im faeder ofsloth an faett cealf, foram e he hine halne onfeng.
(C) Forsoth his eldere sone was in the feeld, and whanne he cam and neighede to the hous, he herde a
symfonye and a croude. And he cleipide oon of the seruantis, and axide what thingis thes weren. And he
seide to him, Thi brodir is comen, and thi fadir hath slayn a fat calf, for he resseyued him saf.
(D) Now the elder son was out on the farm; and his way back, as he approached the house, he heard
music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what it meant. The servant told him, "Your
brother has come home, and your father has killed the fatted calf because he has him back safe and
sound.
8. Old English. The following extract comes from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, an annual record of events
kept by English monks about a thousand years ago. Try and translate this fragment into Modern English.
Brittene igland is ehta hund mila lang and twa hund brad, and her sind on is ignande fif geeode: Englisc
and Brytwylsc and Scyttisc and Pyhtisc and Bocleden. Erest weron bugend ises landes Brittes; a
coman of Armenia and gestan suewearde Bryttene rost. (Trask, R. L, 1994:9)
9. Middle English. The English poet Geoffrey Chaucer died in 1400; the following lines are taken from the
Prologue to his Canterbury Tales. They were written in about 1387. The poet is apologizing for the
apparent crudeness of some of the stories he is repeating. Translate the fragment into Modern English.
But first I pray yow, of youre curteisye,
That ye narette it nat my vileynye,
Thogh that I pleynly speke in this mateere,
To telle yow hir wordes and hir cheere,
Ne thogh I speke hir wordes properly,
For this ye knowen al so wel as I,
Who so shal telle a tale after a man.
10. Early Modern English. Heres the opening of Shakespeares As You Like It, which was written around
the year 1600. Orlando is speaking to Adam:
As I remember, Adam, it was upon this fashion bequeathed me by will but poor a thousand crowns; and ,
as thou sayest, charged my brother on his blessing, to breed me well; and there begins my sadness. My
brother Jacques he keeps at school, and report speaks goldenly of his profit: for my part, he keeps me
rustically at home, or, to speak more properly, stays me here at home unkept; for call you that keeping for
a gentleman of my birth, that differs not from the stalling of an ox?
Here are a few phrases from the passage. How would you say them in Modern English?
a) upon this fashion
b) as thou sayest
c) charged my brother.. to breed me well
d) report speaks goldenly of this profit
e) he stays me here at home unkept
f) call you that keeping?
(Trask, R. L., 1994:8)
g) that differs not
11. Explain the existence in English of such sets as:
rise - mount - ascend
holy - sacred - consecrated
fire - flame - conflagration

12. The following list contains words of Anglo-Saxon origin. Find French synonyms for them.
big
doom
front
instead
smell
calm
dream
happiness
jail
speech
craving
easy
hearty
leave
spell
clumsy
faithful
help
life
whim
deed
freedom
holy
purpose
whole
deep
friendship
hut
shade
work
13. Below you will find a number of English words. Give their Latin synonyms:
alike
empty
bad
rudeness
alive
end
happy
shelter
big
endless
height
stillness
brotherhood fat
helper
stubborn
dead
first
hence
teacher
daily
funny
young
twin
earthy
good
man
wizard
14. Here are some English nouns. Find the Latin adjectives corresponding to them.
heaven
mother
town
house
mind
winter
letter
ox
worm
15. In English one may come across sets of three synonyms of Anglo-Saxon, French and Latin origin. It is
assumed that the Anglo-Saxon terms are popular, the French ones are literary, and the Latin learned. Try
to find the French and the Latin synonyms for the following Anglo-Saxon terms:
anger
huge
unclear
friendly
lively
weariness
goodness
sure
to defeat
hidden
true
to link
16. Below is a list of English words all of which were originally borrowed from foreign languages. Try and
guess which language is the source of each word.
drama, mosquito, confetti, cosmonaut, chauffeur, psychology, duvet, origami, algebra, hamburger, cobra,
piano, kindergarten, mattress, siesta, mammoth, harakiri, marmelade, kayak, soprano, cafeteria, ballet,
tulip, palaver, kangaroo, tea, tsunami, khaki, ukulele, denim, sauna ski, yacht, waltz.
17. Many English names for items of food and drink are borrowed from a wide variety of other languages.
Here are a few such English words, with a list of the languages from which these words are ultimately
derived (some of them came into English via several intermediary languages); can you match them up?
(1) potatoe, maize, persimmon, cashew
(a) Japanese
(2) curry, mango
(b) Nahuatl (Aztec)
(3) caviar, yoghurt, doner (kebab)
(c) Dutch
(4) asparagus, pepper, butter, parsley
(d) Spanish
(5) punch, samosa, chutney
(e) German
(6) wine, cheese, lettuce, cucumber, radish
(f) Russian
(7) ketchup, lychee, kumquat
(g) Modern Greek
(8) okra, yam, banana
(h) Arabic
(9) marzipan, semolina, celery, macaroni
(i) Medieval French
(10) brandy, pickle, coleslaw
(j) Portuguese
(11) veal, vinegar, cabbage, mustard
(k) American
(12) sukiyaki, soy (sauce)
(l) Hungarian
(13) muesli, noodle, frankfurter, pretzel
(m) Modern French

(14) avocado, chocolate, chilli, cocoa

(15) saffron. Kebab, lemon, sorbet
(16) borsht, vodka
(17) caramel, vanilla, gazpacho, sherry
(18) moussaka, retsina
(19) cinnamon, cumin
(20) gateau, champagne, mousse, ragout
(21) goulash, paprika, pastrami
(22) orange, spinach
(23) port, marmalade, coco(nut) molasses

(n) Hindi
(o) Italian
(p) Ancient Greek
(q) Tamil
(r) African languages
(s) Persian
(t) Turkish
(u) Latin
(v) Chinese
(w) Hebrew
(Trask, R. L., 1994, 17)

Seminar 4: Synchronic approach

STYLE, REGISTER, DIALECT
Style is used in a broad sense to include level of formality (i.e. slang, colloquial or informal, neutral, formal,
frozen) as well as styles such as humorous, ironic, poetic, literary, etc. The following items are similar in
conceptual meaning but differ in style:
children (neutral), offspring (formal, sometimes humorous), nipper (colloquial, often humorous), kids
(colloquial), brats (colloquial, derogatory), anklebiters (slang).
Registers are varieties of language defined by their topic and context of use; the language of medicine,
education, law, computers, etc. come into this category:
e.g. minor is a legal term for 'child'; insolvent is the banking term for 'penniless'; cardiac arrest is the
medical term for 'heart attack'.
Dialect is used to describe differences in geographical variation (e.g. AmE, Scottish English, etc.) as well
as variation according to social class. Geographical dialectal variety will produce contrasts such as:
sidewalk (US) = pavement (GB), wee (Scottish) = small (GB); G'day (Australian) = Hello (GB)
A. Regional varieties.
1. Select one item from the brackets to put in the sentence, so as to produce true statements.
a) Linguistically, .................English is a .................variety of the language (British /American/ Scottish
/Canadian; regional/older/provincial).
b) One particular regional variety is ........ to the others in every respect, and none need be regarded
as ......... (superior / inferior / equally related / equivalent / equal).
c) The difference between one regional variety and another is most noticeable in ........., and least of all
in ......... (grammar / lexicon / phonology / vocabulary).
d) The same features of ...........English may be found in more than one of its ............forms (dialectal /
educated / uneducated / standard / officially recognised).
e) There is ............... single standard from of English, but we find very considerable ............. in matters
of ............ and even a remarkable lack of .................... in ..................... and vocabulary (a / an / no /
divergence / uniformity / grammar / spelling / pronunciation / standardization).
2. Give the British equivalents for the following American terms:
American
British
American
gas/gasoline
sidewalk
baby carriage
sneakers
druggist
checkers
curb
first floor
subway
second floor
center
station wagon
truck
trunk

British

labor
mailman
can-opener
ashcan

hood
atomizer
elevator
derby (hat)

3. Find the American equivalents for the following British terms:

British
American
American
jumble sales
flat
tin
staircase
sweets
shares (in a bank)
crisps
chips
coffins
trousers
bill
biscuits
railway
luggage
angry

British

4. Here are a couple of American terms and their British equivalents:

AmE BrE.
AmE
BrE
cable
telegram
diaper
nappy
apartment
flat
fall
autumn
vacation
holiday
band aid
plaster
purse
bag
cookiesbiscuits
drug store
chemist
freeway
motorway
check
bill
bill
note (paper money)
elevator
lift
candy
sweets
faucet
tap
tick-tack-toe noughts and crosses
Now, change these sentences from American into British English:
a. Can you go to the drugstore, honey? We need some diapers for the baby and band-aid for my finger.
b. Last fall I was driving along a freeway when I ran out of gas. Luckily a truck driver stopped and gave
me a ride.
c. Our apartment is quite near the subway station.
d. They sent a cable inviting us to spend our Christmas vacation with them
e. It's my turn to pay the check. Pass me the purse. I've got a $20 bill in it.
5. Here are some Americanisms. Write their equivalents in British English.
a. He ain't gonna help.
b. I gotta go.
c. Monday thru Friday.
d. Did you have a good vacation?
e. Bpy, he was real mad!
f. Wanna cookie?
g. I arrived in the fall.
h. Waiter! The check please.
i. I'm going downtown.
j. What did you do on the weekend?
6. Can you give the British 'translation' of the following Australian expressions?
Australian
British
Wanna cuppa?
Go and tart yourself up!
How ya goin' luv?
Don't get your knickers in a knot!

10

What's the latest goss?

The old man's shot through.
Could I bot a fag?
Grouse lippy!
7. Here are some Australian expressions and their BrEngl. equivalents:
no worries/no problem = the standard responses to a request reflecting a positive attitude
shell be apples = everything is under control
fair dinkum/dinki-d = honest, its the truth
ripper = excellent
ocker = the Australian male (usually considered an uncultered slob, whose idea; evening out consists of a
feed, a frostie and a feature, i.e. dinner, a cold beer and then sex)
Expressions related to drinking
amber fluid /grog = beer
full as a goog = drunk
tube = a can of beer
stubby = a small bottle of beer
esky = portable ice box
to visit the dunny = to go to the outside toilet
point Percy at the porcelain
syphon the python
these are left to your imagination!
chunder/technicolour yawn = to feel sick/to throw up (especially after drinking too much)
Expressions related to food
tucker = food
barbie = barbecue
billy = metal container used to boil water over campfire
bouncing beef = kangaroo
bugs = small pieces of seafood
bush tucker = any edible plant or animal found in the wild
chook = chicken
flake = shark meat
lollies = sweets
Can you build up some sentences using these expressions/words?
8. Australians dislike formality and pompousness. This has perhaps led to the Australian tendency to
abbreviate words using o or ie/-y. Here are some examples.
With O
arvo = afternoon
compo = compensation (for an industrial injury, for example)
muso = musician
reggo = car registration
smoke-o = break
reffo = referee
thingo = thingy, whatsit
garbo = dustman
With ie or y
cozzy = swimming constume
barbie = barbecue
mozzie = mosquito

11

postie = postman
Chrissie = Christmas
Tazzie =Tasmania
sickie = sick leave
chalkie = teacher
This tendency can be taken to an extreme. The Weekend Australian magazine published this overheard
conversation. Can you work out what it all means?
At Chrissie, me and my sister went to Brizzie to see our rellies. I got an eleckie blankie for a prezzie and
she got some lippie. We both got sunnies and pushies. For brekky, we had mushies and chocky bikkies.
9. Welsh words
The longest known place name in the world is:
Llanfairpwllgwgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch or, to the non-native speakers of Welsh,
Saint Marys Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of Saint Tysilio
near a red cave.
Here are some Welsh words and phrases:
a delight = an interest in
awa = uncle
batch = a loaf of bread
bonk = a blow, hit
boo nor bah = nothing
boyo = boy
cochyn = a redhead
Croeso! = Welcome!
dal = very little
done a bunk = run away
fagged out = tired
gorsaf = station
hawk = carry
lose = to miss
not fussed = not bothered
rise = to buy
tidy = good
Now try to invent a place name using some of these words/expressions, so that it should correspond to a
sentence.
10. Jamaican English
The following extract is taken from an interview with Bob Marley. Your task is to rewrite sentences in
standard English.
De higher people in Jamaican government should clean up de dumps an slums an feed my people, my
children! Me read de paper an am ashamed. Dats why me must leave dis place an return ta Africa. If
Jamaica was me home, den me love Jamaica an me wouldn feel like me feel: dat dis place is not me
home. Me don want ta fight da police who help start de riots wit cruelty, but when me moved ta go ta
Africa, if them say no, then me personally will have ta fight. (Source: White, T. (1991) Catch the Fire.
London:Omnibus Press)
Compare the original text with your version. What are the differences?
11. Here are some more sentences and their translations. What is the common phenomenon
(characteristic of Jamaican English) in the given groups of examples?
Jamaican

Translation

a) Im too hard aise.

S/he is too stubborn.

Choble nuh nice Yuh ina big chuble

Trouble is not nice. You are in a big trouble.

12

b)
Dem is a no good bunch
She a mi bes fren
Im sey dat yuh was to bring ting.

They are not a good bunch.

She is my best friend.
S/he said that you were to bring the thing.

c)
Bwaay! Me did tink de test was eazy.
I am de ongle one dat did stay till it dun.
Is da ooman deh did tek mi money?

Boy! I thought that the test would have been easy.

I was the only one who/that stayed till it was finished.
Is that the woman who took my money?

d)
Mr. Garden is planting flowers in de gordon.
Mr. Gordon is planting flowers in the garden.
Sumbody tell mi sey yuh dida talk bout mi.
Somebody told me you were talking about me.
Tandy tink sey in a-go help you.
Stand there thinking he is going to help you.
Mi back a hat mi.
My back is hurting me.
(source: http.// www.jamaican.com/talk.htm, collected by X. Murphy and Donna Essix)
12. Translate the following sentences from Standard English into Jamaican English. Try to apply the rules
you have already drawn from the previous examples.
a) I am going back to work on Tuesday.
b) If you trouble him I am going to hit you.
c) My mother said that you are to leave alone.
13. Read the following fragment from Hard Times, by Charles Dickens. Write out a transcription of the
dialect speech in Standard English.
Stephen Blackpool
'Now, what do you complain of?' asked Mr. Bounderby.
"I ha' not coom here, Sir,' Stephen reminded him, 'to complain. I coom for that I were sent for.'
'What,' repeated Mr. Bounderby, folding his arms, 'do you people, in general way, complain of?'
Stephen looked at him with some little irresolution for a moment, and then seemed to make up his mind.
'Sir, I were never good at showin' o 't, though I ha' had'n my share in feeling o 't. 'Deed we are in a muddle,
Sir. Look round town - so rich as 'tis - and see the numbers o' people as has been broughten into bein
heer, fur to weave, an' to card, an' to piece out a livin', aw the same one way, somehows, 'twixt their
cradles and their graves. Look how we live, an' wheer we live, an' in what numbers, an' by what chances,
and wi' what sameness; and look how the mills is awlus a goin, and how they never works us no nigher to
onny dis' ant object -ceptin awlus, Death. Look how you considers of us, and writes of us, and talks of us,
and goes up wi' yor deputations to Secretaries o' State 'bout us, and how you are awlus right, and how we
are awlus wrong, and never had'n no reason in us sin ever we were born. Look how this ha' growen an'
growen, Sir, bigger an' bigger, broader an' broader, harder an' harder, fro year to year, fro generation unto
generation. Who can look on 't, Sir, and fairly tell a man 'tis not a muddle?
B. Functional varieties
14. Using the functional differentiation made in chapter 4, determine the features of the following texts, on
the basis of the given model.
MODEL:
text
a.

register
scientific

level
neutral

medium
written

13

a) Florida. This finger pointing downward towards the Caribbean is held by some to be a colony of Cuba,
by others, a paradise of senior citizens' colonies ('eventide homes'), and people who believe in 'life, liberty
and happiness of pursuit'. It is said that it was a Florida hospital patient who, when approached by a young
intern wielding a hypodermic needle and explaining' 'Just a little prick with a needle', said, 'I know you are,
but what are you going to do with the needle?'
(From David Frost & Michael Shea: The Mid-Atlantic Companion, p. 22)
b) Let us cool the liquid still further and watch it solidify, still at the same magnification as before. As be
abstract more heat the molecules, moving ever more slowly, are pulled closer together, and the liquid
contracts. At length the molecules are so close that they can no longer pass between one another. The
intermolecular force pulls them together so that they form a regular pattern. Something similar can be seen
if some marbles in the corner of a box are gently shaken. In this way the irregular arrangement of
molecules in gas or liquid is replaced by regular arrangement in a crystal. Such a regular arrangement is
known as a space lattice, i.e. a lattice in three dimensions, as contrasted with the flat lattice or trellis
common in gardens. (From A Structural Introduction to Chemistry, E.T. Harris quoted in Moody, H.L.B:
Varieties of English, p.151)
c) Despite the recent and expensive failure of his latest West End play, Jeffrey Archer is not noticeably
down and a considerable distance from out. With Kane and Able having sold over three million copies in
England and the paperback Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less continuing to nip smartly out of the
bookshops at the rate of a thousand copies a day, fifteen years after its first publication, he has little real
reason to be permanently dispirited.
It's common knowledge that literature is not his first love. He only started writing in his mid-thirties, when a
promising political career collapsed and he resigned a safe seat in Parliament amid business and financial
difficulties which would have crushed most men for good. The legend that he wrote his first novel with the
cold-blooded intention of making a fortune, is, however, only a legend. (From Susan Morris and Alan
Stanton: Practice Tests for CAE, p.75.)
d) I hardly ever take holidays but fourteen years ago I was pressurised into going to the Costa Smeralda
with my wife and son. I enjoyed the first day: I hired a boat, sat in the sun for about twenty minutes and had
tea on the veranda. By the second the novelty of doing nothing had worn off. I love the bustle of towns and
my excitement comes from working. I can't stand people who appear lazy. All I could see were people
sitting and frying in the sun. I got very agitated: the holiday was turning into a nightmare and we went home
immediately. My wife and son were not upset because they know my nature.
e) Here's a heartening scenario for unsigned would-be recording artists: A talented but unknown singer
sends a self-produced demo tape to the offices of a major music conglomerate. As luck would have it, an
enterprising executive plucks the demo from the heap of unsolicited and largely unheard tapes submitted
by other anonymous hopefuls, and voil! Gabriela Anders is wanting no longer. The daughter of an
Argentine jazz saxophonist, Anders began performing in Buenos Aires at 14. Now 26 and a transplant to
New York City, she infuses her music with jazz, gentle Latin rhythms and moments of elegant vocal
phrasing. This easy-listening collection of her own tunes about desiring, getting, losing and regaining love and an appealing cover of the 1964 bosa nova hit "The Girl from Ipanema" - marks an especially promising
U.S. recording debut. (From People magazine, October 26, 1998, p.40)
f) The "Clutch". This is invariably installed between the engine and gearbox and is almost always mounted
directly on the output end of the engine, though occasionally both it and the gearbox are incorporated in the
final drive unit. The clutch is always foot operated, the pedal being linked either by a direct mechanical
linkage or, very often nowadays, by a hydraulic system, similar to that of hydraulic brakes. The latter
method facilitates the accommodation of the considerably transverse movement of rubber mounted
engines. (From The Penguin Car Handbook by Robert Ireson, quoted in Moody, H.L.B: Varieties of
English, p 153)

14

15. Find examples of interference of your mother tongue (Romanian / Hungarian / German) with the
English language at the phonological, grammatical and lexical level.
16. With each of the following items, indicate any remarkable features of style, register or dialect:
e.g. faucet: neutral, US
emoluments, cosine, a shrink, hence, to fancy something, loo, communicative competence, bonkers, bairn.
17. Consider these examples of computer jargon from Conybeare's data. Note which ones are compounds
formed with everyday words, which are quite new formations, and which are more typically 'neolclassical
scientific' formations:
megabyte
wealthware
hypermicro
pixel
checksum
heystrip
vidtex
downloadable
breakpoint
18. The two dialogues below have got mixed up after the first line. Put them in the right order and then say
what the difference between them is:
Dialogue A.
- 1. Hey, I love your coat! Where did you get it?
- 2. Can I have a proper look?
- 3. No, sorry.
- 4. Hang on.... here you are. Hand-made, you know.
- 5. It's my sister's. Nice, isn't it?
- 6. Thanks. Wow, it's great! I don't suppose you know where she got it?
Dialogue B.
- 7. I'm sorry to bother you, but do you mind my asking where you bought that charming bag?
- 8. It's absolutely exquisite. Thank you so much for showing it to me.
- 9. Certainly. As you can see, it's hand-made.
- 10. Really? Could I possibly have a closer look?
- 11. Not at all. As a matter of fact, it was a present from a friend in India.
19. Specialist registers
With which profession or field of activity do you associate the following?
What features of each extract led you to your decision?
a. This contract shall be deemed null and void should any of the aforesaid clauses not be met in any way
whatsoever.
b. Our Father, Which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on
earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive
them that trespass against us.
c. Kessler serves, Jones returns with a backhand passing shot. Kessler volleys at the net, Jones tries to
lob him but the German wins the point with a fine smash, 30 - 15.
d. Marinade the mixture for several hours. Then melt a knob of butter and saute the mixture quickly.
Meanwhile, dice the vegetables and simmer gently for ten minutes. Add stock to the mixture if it
becomes dry. Adjust seasoning, and serve immediately, garnished with salad.
e. YARD TO PROBE RIDDLE OF DEATH PLUNGE TOT
f. I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A
host of golden daffodils.
g. Mulligan's Way is the odds-on favourite at Sandsdown today. The going is soft, and that suits this filly
down to the ground.

15

h. He suffered a cardiac arrest and was admitted to an intensive care unit. A coronary bypass was carried
out, and his condition is now stable.
i. This is an 8 bit (64K) machine, with an inbuilt VDU and dual disk drives.
Can you think of any other professions or fields of activity for which you know some specialized
vocabulary?
Seminar 5: Word Formation Rules
A. PREFIXES
1. Use one of the following prefixes: dis-, il-, im-, in-, ir-, un- with each of the following words:
a) attentive
f) honest
k) natural
b) aware
g) literate
l) practicable
c) cautious
h) logical
m) relevant
d) discreet
i) loyal
n) resolute
e) fortunate
j) modest
o) respectful
2. Analyse the following words built by prefixation according to the scheme:
THE WORD
PHONEMIC TRANSCRIPTION
a) decadence
b) debar
c) distract
d) distort
e) subdivision
f) superpose
g) superman
h) ultra-modern

MEANING

3. Here are some of the most productive class-changing prefixes: a-, be-, en-. Form new words by adding
these prefixes to the following words. Give the translation of the resulting words or use them in sentences
or your own.
blaze, calm, glaze, slave, sleep, spatter, moan, tomb, jewel, wash, friend, witch, snare.
4. Identify which of the following stems can be used with the antonymic prefixes sub- and super-,
according to the model:
MODEL: lieutenant
sublieutenant
.................
sonic
subsonic
supersonic
cool
...................
supercool
a) saturate
g) plot
b) normal
h) critical
c) sensitive
i) ordinate
d) sequence
j) man
e) parasite
k) conscious
f) arctic
l) merge
5. Check which of the following stems can be used with the antonymic prefixes pre- and post-, using the
same pattern as in the previous exercise:
a) doctoral
j) impressionism
b) war
k) traumatic
c) cancel
l) condition
d) historic
m) natal
e) tension
n) election
f) arrange
o) colonial
g) nuptial
p) position
h) atomic
q) glacial

16

i) clinical

r) median

6. Give the English equivalents of the following Romanian words by using prefixation.
a) venit; b) prorector; c) a schia; d) peraclu; e) miezul nopii; f) neprescurtat; a scdea; h) cuvnt nainte;
i) proscris; j) prenume; k) prevedere; l) bicentenar; m) a retrage; n) rscopt; o) a expulza.
7. Fill in the missing words in the following sentences by combining the verb in capital letters at the end of
each sentence with a suitable adverb-particle (in, by, out, down, up, etc.) used as a prefix.
a) There was a heavy ............. yesterday afternoon which completely ruined our party.
POUR
b) The new ............. has made things a lot easier in the town centre since it has taken away all the throughtraffic. PASS
c) He was very ................ when his cat was run over. SET
d) The ............... for tomorrow's weather is very promising.
LOOK
e) The annual ................ of students has decreased by 2o% in the last two years.
TAKE
f) The ................ of the election is still not known.
COME
g) The .............. of this disease is marked by a sudden loss of appetite coupled with a feeling of total
lethargy.
SET
h) Wine, women and song were my brother's ................ .
FALL
i) He felt very ................ when she refused to go out with him. CAST
8. Choose from among the negative prefixes un-, in-, dis-, de-, non-, according to the example:
EXAMPLE: welcome - unwelcome; alcoholize - dealcoholize
a) competence; b) active; c) grade; d) qualified; e) usual; f) proportion; g) abridged; h) likely; i) passionate;
j) distinct; k) block; l) verbal; m) experience; n) kind; o) dramatic; p) regard; q) academic; r) place; s)
dependence; t) consistent; u) figurative; v) eruptive.
B. SUFFIXES
9. Use the suffixes -able, -ate, -ful, -ish, -ive, -less, -like, -ly, -y to form adjectives from the following
nouns:
a) secret; b) family; c) cad; d) affection; e) hair; f) honour; g) lady; h) shame; i) death.
10. The suffixes -er, -or, -ant, -ist form nouns that name people or things that do something, e.g. a pianist
is someone who plays the piano. Now state what each of the following does: driver, economist, reflector,
tourist, speaker, applicant, inhabitant, grinder, narrator, occupant, cyclist, investigator, dramatist, navigator,
radiator, tenant, excavator, specialist, fighter, attendant.
11. The endings -ment, -ion, -ence, -ance, are added to verbs to form abstract nouns meaning 'the act of
or the result of the act of'. Find out which verb each of the following has been formed from and point out the
changes in spelling that are made when the endings are added: admittance, recurrence, fascination,
arrangement, justification, enlistment, defense, illumination, objection, entrance, devotion, employment,
occurrence, inflation.
12. Abstract nouns ending in -ty mostly come from adjectives. From what adjectives are these nouns
formed: ambiguity, antiquity, sensibility, priority, oddity, anxiety, generosity, hospitality, rapidity, formality,
festivity, captivity, reliability, curiosity?
13. The ending -ness added to adjectives to form abstract nouns is so active that many new nouns in
-ness have been formed even though abstract nouns from the same root already exist, e.g. able, ability,
ableness; candid, candour, candidness. Form abstract nouns with -ness from the following adjectives,
except for the cases where there already exist abstract nouns from the same root: smooth, kind, various,
lovely, brave, generous, rough, sleepy, childish, honest, patient, difficult, holy, willing, sane, private,
anxious, friendly, sincere, draughty, intelligent, homesick, proud, happy.

17

14. Here are some of the suffixes used to form diminutives: -kin, -y, -en, -let, -ette, -ling, -ie. Use them to
say what each of the following is called:
a) a very young cat;
g) a very small kitchen
b) a small flat
h) a young goose
c) a tiny river
i) a small crown
d) a very young plant
j) a small house
e) a baby still being suckled
k) a very young lamb
f) a baby bird
l) a little pig
15. Form adjectives from the following nouns: poison, grace, defense, humour, power, life, monster, envy,
glory, aim, desire, fury, fun, name, taste, bore.
16. By adding -ous, -ent, -ant, -ed, derive adjectives from the bracketed nouns:
a) She waited without complaining; she was very (patience).
b) That visit wasn't (pleasure).
c) Mary is always (confidence) that she is right.
d) His behaviour was always (courtesy).
e) Tommy was particularly (mischief).
f) I like the privacy of a (fence) garden.
g) It was a (moment) occasion.
17. Find adjectives coming from the following verbs: instruct, attract, relate, persuade, construct, exclude,
avoid, remove, deny, solve, permit, convince, collapse, argue, pity, reserve, extend, concern.
18. By using suffixes form adjectives from the following proper names, according to the model:
MODEL: Shakespeare
Shakespearean
Rembrandt
Rembrandtesque
Mexico
Mexican
Bonaparte
Bonapartist
Wagner
Wagnerite
Venezuela, Milton, Marlowe, Hemingway, Einstein, Harrow, Prometheus, Lenin, Shaw, Seneca, Chicago,
Pickwick, San Francisco, Dante, Oxford, Darwin, Spencer, Calvin, New Hampshire, Paris, Jacob, London.
19. The word in capitals at the end of each of the following sentences can be used to form a word that fits
suitably in the blank spaces. Fill each blank in this way.
EXAMPLE: During the war there was a great SHORTAGE

of sugar, coffee and other goods. SHORT

a) There was a lot of ............ this morning as work began on the new supermarket. ACTIVE
b) I can think of ................. reasons for not getting married; but even so, I still want to one day. COUNT.
c) The lovers stood, hand in hand, gazing at the ............. sky. STAR
d) Thousands of people turned up for the Pop Festival where the big ............ was Bob Dylan. ATTRACT
e) I'm afraid you'll have to see Mr. Pound. All matters concerning finance are his .............. RESPONSE
f) I hope there won't be too much .............. in getting a work permit.
DIFFICULT
g) How are you getting on with your .................. course in Russian? CORRESPOND
h) What time do you .............. start work?
USE
i) There was ice on the pavement which made it very difficult to walk as it was so ................. .
SLIP
j) I don't know what's the matter with Tommy lately. His ................. seems to be getting worse and worse.
BEHAVE
k) No matter how much people would wish it, it is very doubtful whether there will ever be true .............
EQUAL
l) What ................ do you need to become a doctor?
QUALIFY

18

C. COMPOUNDING
20. Compound adjectives may be formed of:
- adj. + '-ing' part. : good-looking, pleasant-sounding;
- adv. + '-ed' part.: well-dressed, badly-behaved, wrongly-addressed;
- noun + '-ed' part.: hand-made, tongue-tied;
- noun + '-ing' part.: heart-breaking, soul-destroying;
- adj. + '-ed' part.: broad-shouldered, long-legged;
- numeral + noun: second- hand, first year (as in a first year student)
Choose from the list above and add some other adjectives to complete the following sentences:
a) A ..................... person is someone who cannot speak easily.
b) A pupil who behaves badly is said to be .............. .............
c) A ...................... job is one that merely breaks your back.
d) A .................. writer is known by very many people.
e) We call this a ......................... house because it is built of bricks.
f) A ................... girl is one who has fair hair.
g) Jane is ..................... because her clothes fit well and look nice.
h) A burglar has to be .................. as well as ................. .
i) .......................... letters cannot be delivered at the right house.
j) A ..................... letter is one that has been written with care.
k) .....................cakes are cakes that have been made at home.
21. Find in column B the right definition of the compound adjectives in column A:
A
B
a. long-headed
1. generous with money
b. soft-hearted
2. clever, shrewd and far-sighted
c. down-hearted
3. of strict and rigid principles
d. tongue-tied
4. tender by nature
e. cool-headed
5. callous and unfeeling
f. double-minded
6. discouraged and depressed
g. hard-boiled
7. of a mind wavering between two or more
courses of action
h. long-winded
8. of calm judgement
i. open-handed
9. tedious or lengthy in speech or argument
j) straight-laced
10. unable to speak.
22. Compound pronouns/adjectives have a more indefinite character than the simple forms:
Nominative: whoever, whosoever (literary form) - oricine
Possessive: woseever, whosesoever - al oricrui.
Objective: who(m)soever, who(m)ever - oricrui.
Except for whoever and whoseever, all the other forms are used both as pronouns and adjectives.
Insert whoever, whatever or whichever in the following sentences:
a) I must admit ............... he says is true.
b) You may invite Jane and Jack, and ................ else you like.
c) Here you are the three books treating the problems you told me about. Take .......... you want!
d) He kisses ............... he meets.
e) "What shall we begin with?"
" .....................you like."
23. Translate into English the following sentences, using compound relatives, stating whether they are
used as pronouns or as adjectives:
a) Oricine ar fi ei, trebuie s cunosasc regulamentul.

19

b) Intreab de ei pe oricine vezi aici.

c) Orice ar spune el, gndete-te nainte de a-i rspunde.
d) Nu m intereseaz, al oricui este, cinele trebuie vaccinat.
e) Orice spune ea, este pe placul lui.
24. Here you are given the first half of some compound nouns. Try to find words which could be the other
half, thus forming a compound noun.
WORD FIRST CHOICE
School
Water
Fashion
Rain
Index
Tax

SECOND CHOICE

THIRD CHOICE

25. Translate the following into English using compound nouns:

a) cutremur de pmnt; b) main de splat; c) tunsoare; d) ap potabil; e) revrsat de zori; f) strngere
de mna; g) pta de snge; h) camuflaj; i) centur de siguran; j) cocoat; k) pieton.
26. Translate into English, paying special attention to the underlined words:
a) Oficiul potal era deja nchis cnd am ajuns acolo.
b) Fiul meu vitreg este un pasionat al cuvintelor ncruciate.
c) Pentru un astfel de rol ai nevoie de un machiaj special.
d) Nimic nu este mai frumos dect curcubeul dup mai multe zile de ploaie.
e) Ne-am mutat de curnd ntr-un bloc cu nclzire central.
f) Ne ntlnim la gar la ora 8 fix.
g) Eti sigur c i-ai lsat geanta la garderob?
h) Te rog s curei argintria nainte de sfritul sptmnii.
i) A nflorit mrul din curtea din spatele casei noastre.
D. CONVERSION
27. Illustrate the different functions of the following words: matter, fire, stay, mean, top, water, doctor, face,
hand, thought, foot, people.
28. Complete the following sentences using a verb (in an appropriate tense) which denotes a part of the
body:
a) You have no money. ............ the facts. You can't go on spending as though you were a millionaire.
b) Could you ........... me that book on the table next to you?
c) In the final minutes of the football match, Robson ......... the ball into the back of the net.
d) After his father's death, Tom had to shoulder the responsibility for his family's debts.
e) She ................ the material gently. It felt as smooth as silk.
f) The bank robber was ................ with a knife and a gun.
g) HUSBAND: "Don't bring me any more bills, I simply can't face them!"
WIFE: "But, darling, I don't want you to face them. I want you to ............ them".
E. CLIPPING
29. Identify the words which were clipped in order to form the contracted forms and identify the type of
clipping, distinguishing among aphaeresis (fore-clipping) (FC), syncope (medial clipping) (MC) and
apocope (back-clipping) (BC), according to the model:
a) story

MODEL: specs spectacles

h) fan

BC

20

b) cinema
c) dorm
d) max
e) memo
f) perm
g) vamp

i) copter
j) hanky
k) cello
l) telly
m) pants
n) wig

30. Find the full form of the following:

ad, cable, lab, gym, champ, movie, vet, prefab, phone, bus, zoo, bike, flu.
31. Clip the following first names by applying aphaeresis, syncope and apocope, e.g. Elisabeth > Beth, Liz.
a) Herbert
f) Alfred
b) Wilhelmina
g) Arabella
c) Theodora
h) Christina
d) Octavia
i) Dorothy
e) Sylvester
j) Robert
F. BLENDING
32. Choose the pairs of words forming blends, according to the model.
MODEL: sneet = snow + sleet
The choice is made from: breakfast, guest, transfer, Oxford, screen, buffalo, pneumatic, cable, electronics,
motor, inflation, Europe, television, beef, American, cattle, resistor, hotel, dictate, electricity, confound,
parachute, star, Baker Street, automat, swell, execute, Indian, phone, cast, fog, mail, stagnation, aviation,
sport, telegram, motorist, dome, dump, troop, cavalcade, African, smoke, Cambridge, lunch, Waterloo
Underground, fish, elegant.
a) Amerind
b) dumbfound
c) catalo
d) dictaphone
e) electrocute
f) paratroops
g) guestar
h) sportcast

i) Oxbridge
j) avionics
k) smog
l) telescreen
m) stagflation
n) mailomat
o) cablegram
p) transistor

q) motel
r) Eurafrican
s) brunch
t) Bakerloo
u) beefish
v) swellegant
w) pneudome
x) motorcade.

G. Eponymous words.
33. The words in the following groups share a particular sort of origin. Can you identify the manner in which
they have been created?
a) jodhpurs, magenta, ascot, spa, duffel, blarney, bourbon, limerick, cheddar, cologne, champagne, china.
b) cardigan, sandwich, silhouette, diesel, leotard, quisling, lynch, boycott, zeppelin.
H. Mixture
The words in each of the following groups share a particular sort word formation rule. Identify the way in
which the words in each group were created.
a) highbrow, proofread, gentleman, bloodthirsty, daredevil, homesick, redhead, air-conditioning;
b) Lilliputian, Shangri-La, Frankenstein, man Friday, yahoo, scrooge, malapropism;
c) Slave, vandal, arabesque, frank, gothic, gyp, cravat, hooch, swede;
d) Flu, copter, gator, cello, chimp, ad, lab, piano, maths;
e) Bewitch, enslave, archenemy, stepmother, recycle, midday, misfit, demigod.
Seminar 6: Meaning

21

1. Etymology is the study of the history of words. Find a good etymological dictionary and examine how
the meanings of the following words have changed over time:
assassin, bead, buxom, clue, cloud, heckle, hysteria, liquor, mess, parasite, saucer, treacle, weird,
worm (source: Radford et al, 1999:272).
2. In some cases, the change in meaning of a word can only be understood in terms of associated cultural
changes or particular historical events. Here are a few examples of such words. Consulting a good
dictionary, try to explain the changes in the meaning of these words.
a. The word car derives from Latin carra two-wheeled cart.
b. the words electron, electronics and electricity all derive from Greek electron amber (petrified tree
resin)
c. The word book is derived from the name of the beech tree.
d. The word chapel is derived from Latin cappella cloak.
e. The word money derives from Latin moneta one who admonishes
f. The word sinister derives from Latin sinister on the left hand side
g. The names of September and October, the ninth and tenth months of the year, are derived from Latin
septem seven and octo eight
h. The word charm derives from Latin carmen song.
(Trask, L.R. 1994:44)
3. Each of the following sentences should seem normal enough. However, in each case, the modern
meaning of the word in italics is quite different from its earlier meaning, and the sentence would be quite
impossible if the word had retained its original meaning. Try to guess the earlier meaning of the word from
the context, and check your guess in a good dictionary which provides earlier meanings.
a. No animals are allowed in the cockpit.
b. Miss Marples knitting wool cannot be a clue.
c. The candidate turned up in a dark blue suit.
d. She is small and slim, but she has a great deal of poise.
e. We arrived at a dusty village in the middle of the desert.
f. Wrapping her cloak tightly about her, she escaped from her escort.
g. The Japanese manufacturers make heavy use of automated factories.
h. The ships passengers were quarantined for two weeks.
i. John is a mediocre mountain-climber, but he always makes it to the top.
j. After the break-in, our vegetarian shop was a shambles.
k. Shes painted a lovely blues-and yellow miniature.
l. A disheveled old man, bald and toothless, huddled in a doorway. (Trask, L.R. 1994:44)
4. Fill in the blanks with the required nouns forming idiomatic comparisons (similes), and give their
Romanian equivalents.
EXAMPLE: as black as coal = negru ca taciunele
a) as bold as.................
n) as pale as..............
b) as timid as ............
o) as green as.............
c) as deaf as................
p) as dead as...............
d) as good as...............
q) as mad as...............
e) as hard as ..............
r) as right as...............
f) as large as...............
s) as tall as.................
g) as changeable as ........
t) as blind as...............
h) as drunk as................
u) as steady as...........
i) as old as ..................
v) as obstinate as........
j) as slippery as.............
w) as cool as .............
k) as thin as .................
x) as like as................
l) as proud as ...............
y) as wise as .............

22

m) as quiet as ..............

z) as light as..............

You will need to choose from the following nouns: eel, mole, lord, post, lion, lath, mouse, mule, grass,
peas, cucumber, rock, life, gold, peacock, serpent, death, weather, grave, fish, hare, hills, mutton, rain,
hatter, nails.
5. Metaphors. Very often a phrase or expression with a highly specific meaning comes to be used as a
metaphor and hence to be used in a much wider sense. Here are a few examples, all of nautical origin.
Consulting a good dictionary, explain the shift in meaning.
a) Therell be the devil to pay.
b) He nailed his colours to the mast.
c) Were in the doldrums.
d) I didnt like the cut of his jib.
e) The opportunity has gone by the board.
f) We gave him a wide berth.
g) She took the wind out of his sails. (Source: Trask, R.L., 1994:44)
6. Quantitative hendiadys
Fill in the blanks with the required terms to form phrases using paired words. Give their Romanian
equivalents.
EXAMPLE: bag and baggage = cu tot calabalacul, cu cel i purcel
You will need the following words: face, fast, have-nots, parcel, starts, near, then, key, ready, again, ends,
turn, crook, dislikes, wide, tired, short, later, money, worse, sound, wholesale, soul, less, swim, void, low.
a) part and............................
b) safe and ...........................
c) face to ..............................
d) under lock and..................
e) the twist and.....................
f) hard and ...........................
g) odds and ..........................
h) rough and ........................
i) every now and...................
j) the haves and ....................
k) sick and ...........................
l) far and ..............................
m) the long and the ........of it

n) the likes and.........................

o) sooner or .............................
p) for better or .........................
q) by hook or by ......................
r) retail or .................................
s) not for love, nor....................
t) by fits and .............................
u) heart and ..............................
v) sink or ..................................
w) high and ..............................
x) more or ...............................
y) null and ...............................

7. Give the Romanian equivalents of the following impersonal idiomatic phrases:

a) it is bad manners
k) it goes like clockwork
b) it is bad taste
l) it gets on one's nerves
c) it is a matter of taste
m) it affects one very much
d) it irks me
n) it slips somebody's notice
e) it does not pay
o) it is anything but pleasant
f) it is no fun
p) it is just the other way round
g) it is a piece of luck
q) it is all the same to me
h) it is worth (while)
r) it would melt the hardest heart
i) it is most likely
s) it is hard to say
j) it is manifestly wrong
t) it's no use (to)

23

8. On the left is a list of words which have undergone substantial changes of meaning during the last few
centuries; on the right is a list of their former meanings in a different order. Can you match each word with
its former meaning?
a. sack
1. understand
b. prove
2. monks costume
c. skill
3. foolish
d. disease
4. unrelated
e. frock
5. feather
f. wade
6. test
g. thing
7. strong wine
h. silly
8. time
i. reek
9. discomfort
j. impertinent
10. prayer
k. fee
11. livestock
l. boon
12. legal matter
m. pen
13. smoke
n. tide
14. go
o. fond
15. helpless
(Source: Trask, R.L., 1994:45)
Seminar 7: Semantic relations
A. ANTONYMY
1. What is the opposite of: dry, strong, rough, thick, hard?
2. Now give the opposite of the following: dry wine, strong cigarette, a rough sea, a thick person, a
hard exercise.
3. Give the opposites of the following: light bag, light wind, light colours, rough texture, rough area, rough
person, rough calculation.
4. What are the possible opposites of the words hard and high in the following phrases? Which has the
most contextual variation?
high marks
hard exam
high opinion
hard chair
high building
hard journey
high price
hard work
high temperature
hard person
high winds
hard drugs
5. Give the antonyms of the following terms, according to the model:
MODEL:
deep -shallow,
fair -unfair
weak
happiness
before
right
rise
easy
storm
soft
illness
sincerity
native
fresh
kind
white
dull
remember
whole
promise
like
rich
perfect
little
save
true
shut
hate
stop
north
everyone
youth
war
come
obedient
lengthen
high
above
increase
legal
good
friend
late
superior
new
equal
beautiful
hot
find
life.
6. Find the opposites of the words on the left. Choose from the ones on the right.

24

a. to lend
b. to vanish
c. to remember
d. to hurry
e. to detest
f. to insult
g. to sell
h. to depart
i. to increase
j. to attack
k. to expand
l. to improve
m. to punish
n. to support
o. to encourage

1. purchase/buy
2. decrease
3. defend
4. deteriorate/get worse
5. arrive
6. appear
7. take ones time
8. discourage
9. oppose
10. contract
11. reward
12. forget
13. borrow
14. praise
15. adore

7. What is the opposite of the following words? Use the negative prefixes un-/ in-/ im-/ dis-. If there is
another word that has approximately the same meaning, write that too.
WORD
OPPOSITE
SIMILAR MEANING
e.g. safe
unsafe
dangerous
modest
happy
complete
expensive
interesting
important
perfect
friendly
polite
correct
honest
certain
flexible
B. SYNONYMY
8. Underline the word which is closest in meaning to the first three words in each line:
a. love, like, enjoy
hope, hate, adore, raise
b. deceive, fool, cheat
swindle, lose, lyre, drop
c. eager, keen, enthusiastic
careful, interesting, strong, zealous
d. try, endeavour, attempt
undertake, make, construct, prove
e. cunning, crafty, sly
careful, artful, queer, inept
f. order, command, dictate
claim, steer, decree, desire
g. request, beg, ask
assure, entreat, require, wish
h. wealthy, rich, prosperous
affluent, noble, destitute, mean
i. dislike, hate, loathe
vomit, scour, abhor, stand
j. astonish, amaze, astound
favour, bewilder, increase
k. event, result, consequence
reason, outcome, substitute
l. weak, feeble, powerless
stark, slow, impotent, able
m. kill, slay, assassinate
load, slaughter, die, lead off
9. Give a synonym for each of the underlined words in the following sentences. Choose from the ones
below:

25

giddy
chatty
stingy
intentional

hopeless
absurd
mad
pensive

immature
reliable
disgraceful
weird

amiable
famished
conscious

a. There is only one way of describing Hitler - he was completely insane.

b. A good friend is someone who is kind, considerate and totally dependable.
c. Our new boss isn't too bad at all. In fact, she's quite likeable, really.
d. You are aware of the fact that he's married, aren't you?
e. I wish you'd grow up! You are so childish.
f. I didn't mean to break it - it wasn't deliberate.
g. That's the last time I go to a party with Simpson! His behaviour last night was absolutely disgusting.
h. I always get very dizzy when I stand on the top of high buildings.
i. What do you mean you can't afford to buy me a drink? Don't be so mean! You've got a lot more money
than I have.
j. I could eat a horse! I'm really hungry.
k. Take those trousers off - you look ridiculous in them!
l. Our new neighbours are very talkative.
m. You're looking rather thoughtful this morning.
n. We've lost the match! You played like a team of grannies! You were pathetic.
o. Charles has some really peculiar ideas sometimes!
10. Fill in the blanks by choosing from the synonymic series the most adequate terms:
controversy - dispute - debate
a. The question under ................. raised an amendment.
b. Can't you see this problem is beyond any ..............?
c. This ................. cannot be continued any longer.
damage - harm - injury
d. The bombs caused great ................ to the airport.
e. There is no ................... in taking a few pills.
a. Your statement does a(n) .............. to her reputation.
agreement - bargain - contract - convention - pact - treaty
g. The two states have signed their first cultural ........... .
h. The USA have signed several .......... for delivering food to underdeveloped countries.
i. The two leaders did not reach any ...............
j. Military ................ are a permanent danger to the worlds peace.
come - arrive at - reach
k. When does the train .......... the station?
l. Years.......... and go!
m. Through hard work he ........... success.
hold - contain - embody - include
n. The box .............. chocolates.
o. The two characters ................... all virtues and vices.
p. The exhibition ........ some rare manuscripts.
q. The ship ............ 45,000 tons.
11. Decide which word in each of the following groups is significantly different from the others. If necessary,
use your dictionary.
a. to celebrate, to commiserate, to commemorate, to honour

26

b.
c.
d.
e.

f.

to soothe, to startle, to alarm, to frighten

to inflame, to douse, to extinguish, to smother
a symbol, a sign, a password, a logo
a phantom, a spirit, a ghost, a premonition
a mutiny, an assembly, an insurrection, a rebellion

12. Here is a newspaper article, in which the writer complains about the use of euphemistic language. The
euphemisms have been blanked out, and given below the text. Match them to the correct place in the
article.
STOP BEING COY
I will die not pass away
I am an old cripple, drawing an old-age pension, working hard to raise vast quantities of vegetables on an
allotment and well aware that, one of these days, I shall die. All this is fact.
If, however, I listen to the voice of officialdom, it turns out that I am a 1............, registered as 2.................,
drawing a 3..................renting a 4............., and, presumably, immortal because I shall never die I shall
merely 5...................
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Euphemisms are considered overtly squeamish and affected by
contemporary writers, unless used for humorous effect. This may be so among cognoscenti but there is
little evidence to show that the masses, especially administrators, have read their encyclopedia. The
clichs which pour from the lips of trade union leaders are endless. 6......... or 7 ............ equals going on
strike and 8. .............. equals being bloody minded
Again quoting the encyclopaedia:a euphemism is a figure of speech in which something of an unpleasant,
distressing, or indelicate nature is described in less offensive terms. For example, to describe George as a
sex maniac might not endear you to Auntie Mabel but she would be proud to hear him referred to as a
9.....................
Examples of gross understatement may also appeal to some of us. A native of the Lake District who
describes himself as being nobbut middlin, is approaching a state of collapse and coma; if he says hes
proper poorly, there will be a funeral in the near future.
These more robust euphemisms may, for all I care, stay. But let us, please, do away with the following: 10.
................ (poor), 11. ................ (ill), 12. ............. (stupid), 13. ................... (dole), 14. ...............
(Ministry of War), 15. .............. (talk), 165 ................... (pet).
All this effort to avoid unpleasantness is certain to fail, because the euphemism quickly acquires the stigma
of the world it replaced. I, and probably others, do not feel younger because I am called a senior citizen
Bryan Heath (retired vet)
a) withdrawing our services; b) leisure garden, c) pass away, d) low IQ, e) Ministry of Defence, f)
companion animal, g) disadvantaged senior citizen, h) working the rule, i) unemployment benefit, j)
disabled, k) manly man, l) under the weather, m) retirement pension, n) lower income brackets, o) taking
industrial action, p) have a dialogue
(From Headway Advanced, 1994, p.49)
13.How many euphemisms can you find for each of the following words/phrases?
-to kill
-to have sex
-to die

27

-toilet

C. HOMONYMY
13. Mark the correct word:
a. Boy / buoy - which floats more frequently?
b. Beach / beech - which one is a tree?
c. Rain / reign / rein - which of them drenches you if you have no umbrella?
d. Cession / session - by which do you agree to give up lands, rights?
e. Bare / bear - which one is a wild animal?
f. Flea / flee - which one means a small, wingless insect that feeds on the blood of human beings and some
animals?
g. Key / quay - which one does a boat come alongside?
h. Cereal / serial - which one might continue next week?
i. Steal / steel - which one is used for knives, tools?
j. Air / heir - which inherits and which is everywhere?
k. Fair / fare - which do you pay on a bus?
l. Pair / pear - which one is a sweet, juicy fruit?
m. Pail/ pale - which one is a vessel for carrying liquids?
n. Bail / bale - which one do you pay to be released from jail?
o. Ascent / assent - which one means 'approval'?
p. Berth / birth - which one is a place for sleeping on a train or ship?
q. Break / brake - which one is a device which causes something else to slow down or stop whether it is a
car or a desire?
r. Complement/ compliment - which one is a praise?
14. Complete the following jokes. The humour depends on homophones in each one.
read/red
stories/storeys
rains/reins
bean/been
bolder/boulder
pane/pain
bare/bear
allowed/aloud
week/weak
a.

Waiter, what do you call this?

> It's ........ soup, sir.
I don't care what it's ...... . What is it now?

b.

Have you ever hunted ...........?

>No, I always hunt with my clothes on.

c.

Why are black clouds like somebody riding a horse?

>Because they both hold the ..............

d.

A teacher saw two boys fighting in the playground.

>Stop! You know the school rules - No fighting ............
But, sir, we weren't fighting ...... . We were fighting quietly.

e.

What is the effect of seven days dieting?

> They make one ...............

f.

Did you hear about the novelist who lived on the ninth floor of a block of flats?
>He dropped six ................... into a wastepaper basket and lived.

g.

How can I get rid of my headache?

28

>Hit your head against a window and the ........ will disappear.
h.

Fortune Teller: Would you like your palm ........., sir?

>Man: No, thanks, I like the colour it is now.

j.

What did the small shy stone say?

>I wish I was a little ...................

15. In the text below find 40 words that have homophone-pairs; underline them and write the other word
beneath. Make sure to take into account plurals and 3rd person singular Present Tense, as well as Past
Tense - regular verbs and comparatives.
The mayor was sitting in his oaken armchair, mopping his brow with his silk handkerchief. Why brood
about such minor problems? How could such things be lightening the darkness of his tormenting remorse
and doubts that had their root in the inner feeling of guilt that kept haunting him day and night like a horde
of covetous locusts? He would have liked to seize the naked truth and throw it out if he couldn't bury it
deep down in his soul. Above all, he would have given anything in the world to find out the source of this
nightmarish chain of events. His arms lay on the stationery on his desk without moving as all he could do
was just stare at the clock on the mantel above the fireplace. He felt his heart beat violently in his chest
and the sweat yield through all the pores of his face.
He knew he had to tell his dear and loyal friends so as not to grow mad. His friends who had always held
him in such high esteem! And yet he had to let them know what a curse that damn loot meant for the bloc,
although he knew that the confession could not lessen his grief... He took the glass of beer he had not
touched so far, feeling base and defiled. He had paced beyond the bearable limit of sufferance on his own
and now he had to let it leak out and flee from the country lest someone should slay him.
16. PUNS
A pun is a play upon words - usually one word with two meanings. For example, a mouse is both an animal
and something you use with a computer. Complete these jokes with puns
present
fork
fine
pretty ugly
atmosphere
merry can
change
charge
poor
a)

Have you noticed any ..............in me?

> No! Why?
I've just swallowed some coins accidentally.

b)

Some girls think I'm handsome and some girls think I'm horrible. What do you think, Mary?
>A bit of both,................

c)

You have to be rich to play golf.

>Then why are there so many ...................players?

d)

I think we've just had a puncture.

>How did it happen?
There was a ...................in the road.

e)

Well, son, how was your first day at the new school?
>Great! The teacher is going to give me a gift.
How do you know that?
>Well, when I arrived, she pointed to a chair in the corner and said, "Sit over there for
the ............"

29

f)

Why did the two astronauts decide to leave the restaurant on the moon and return to one on
Earth?
>They said it had no.................

g)

I'm going to have to put you in a prison cell for the night.
>What's the ................., Officer?
Nothing. It's all part of the service!

h)

Why did you park your car on the yellow lines?

>Because the sign says "............FOR PARKING."

i)

What do you call a happy tin in the USA?

>A ................................................!.

17. Enjoy the following puns based on polysemy and homonymy.

a. The owner of a luggage shop saw a gigantic elephant standing before the counter. "What do you want?',
he asked. "I'd like to see something new in trunks", answered the elephant.
b. "My grandfather lived to be nearly ninety and never used glasses." "Well, lots of people prefer to drink
from a bottle".
c. "You missed my class yesterday, didn't you?", the professor asked. "Not in the least, sir, not in the least",
answered the student.
d. "I wonder if I can see your mother, my child. Is she engaged?". "Engaged?! She's married!"
e. A man knocked at the door of his neighbours' house, where he was a frequent, but not very welcome
visitor. "Father has gone out", little Paul said, answering the door. "Never mind, I'll speak to your mother."
"She has also gone out, sir." "It's rather cold, I'd like to sit by the fire for a while." "Impossible, the fire has
gone out, too."
f. Young man: "I sent you some suggestions telling you how to make your paper more interesting. Have
you carried out any of my ideas?"
Editor: "Did you meet the office boy with a wastepaper basket as you were coming upstairs?"
Young man: "Yes, I did."
Editor: "Well, he was carrying out your ideas."
g. "So you want to divorce your wife. Aren't your relations pleasant?"
"Mine are, but hers are simply terrible."
h. In the midst of a heated argument, a man rose and shouted with anger: "It's common sense that I want!
Nothing else!" "It's common sense that you want, no doubt," his opponent exclaimed, "and therefore your
opinion should be disregarded."
D. HYPONYMY
18. Which of the following statements are true?
a) tennis is a hyponym of sport;
b) cucumber and vegetable are co-hyponyms;
c) plant is a superordinate of tree;
d) calf is a hyponym of creature;
e) orange and tomato are co-hyponyms;
f) chess is a hyponym of game;

30

g) game is a hyponym of sport;

h) poker is a hyponym of sport;
i) bread is a co-hyponym of milk;
j) disease is a superordinate of tuberculosis;
k) swing and toy are co-hyponyms.
On the basis of the answers you provided, try to construct partial taxonomies 1. Try to extend these
taxonomies upwards and downwards and point out any difficulties or points of interest that arise.
Seminar 8: COLLOCATIONS
1. Fill in the matrix. Indicate normal collocations with a tick, doubtful or unusual ones with a question mark
(?), and unacceptable ones with a cross (x):
a laugh

a smoke

an experience

a trip

take
make
have
do
2. Which of these verbs is commonly used with which object?
drive
your shoulders
ride
your homework
nod
a bus
shrug
your head
tell
your bed
say
a lie
make
this bicycle
do
a word in Spanish
For each of these verbs, list three direct objects that can follow them: drive, tell, say, make, do.
NOUN COLLOCATIONS
There are many nouns which typically go with particular uncountable nouns.
e.g. a lump of sugar/coal, an item of news, a piece of advice
A. Put one word into each gap to express a unit. Sometimes there are several possibilities.
a) a................of chocolate/soap; b) a ................. of meat. c) a .................of water (small amount)
d) a...............of celery, e) a ................. of garlic, f) a ............ of salt (a tiny amount); g) a..........of soda in
my whisky; h) a .................of thunder; i) a ................of lightening; j) a......... of dry weather; k) a............. of
wind; l) a ............. of fog; m) a .............. of fresh air; n) a .............. of applause; o) a ................ of fun; p)
a ......... of dust;
q) a ............... of glass (intact); r) a ................ of glass (in my finger); s) a ......... of blood (for tests).
B. What nouns can you think of to complete the following phrases? Use your dictionary.
a) A stroke of.............
b) An act of................
c) A state of ..............
d) A round of.............
e) A grain of ..............
f) A fit of ...................
1

Taxonomy is a structure in which we meet more general terms as we ascend to higher levels.

31

4. Which of the combinations of these adjectives and nouns below is unusual? Why? Suggest
improvements where necessary.
a) a fat piece of wood; b) a wrong answer; c) a strange coincidence; d) a dead apple; e) a fat dog; f) a
wrong mistake; g) a touching letter; h) a heavy drink; i) a touching hand; j) a heavy metal.
For each of these adjectives, list two other nouns which can follow them: heavy, strong, fat, thick.
5. Which prepositions usually follow these adjectives?
-interested........
music
-keen.........learning Hebrew
-disgusted........himself
-furious (angry)........... something
-annoyed (upset)..........
someone......... doing something
-excited........... something
-surprised.........
the news
-delighted.........
your work
6. Here is a jumble of collocations taken from two different sections of the same newspaper. Separate them
into two lists and name the fields they typically belong to:
grand slam
transfer fee
pole position
exchange controls
insider leading
key stakes
asset stripping

peak performance
put option
head for relegation
base rate
downward trend
defending champion
final lap

7. Adverb and verb collocations

Certain intensifying adverbs and verbs are often found together.
e.g. I thoroughly approve of the scheme.
I quite agree.
Put one of the following adverbs into each gap Sometimes more than one might be possible.
sincerely, fully, seriously, strongly, completely, totally, firmly, distinctly, entirely, deeply, freely, greatly,
absolutely, categorically.
a. Good evening! First of all, I want to emphasize that my party.............believes in democracy.
b. That is why we ............ hope you will vote for us at the next election.
c. There have been some smear campaigns by the opposition, but our Minister for
Employment.........denies the allegations that have been made against him.
d. He.........admits that several mistakes were made during his tenure of office.
e. He.........regrets that it was necessary to make three million people redundant to improve the
employment situation.
f. But I ...........doubt whether the opposition could have done any better.
g. I ...........remember that in their last manifesto they said they would adopt similar measures.
h. They have........... ignored the fact that the world recession has hit every industrialized nation
i. I am sure that this situation will............refuse to believe their empty promises when it goes to the polls
next Thursday.
j. I.........agree with our great Prime Minister that the road ahead will be tough.
k. I............admire his honesty and tenacity.
l. He............understands the needs of this great nation.
m. He........... disagrees with people who aren't tolerant enough to see his point of view.

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n. So I .............advise you to vote for me. Together, we can secure the future.
8. Adverb and adjective collocations
Many intensifying adverbs and adjectives go together, e.g. absolutely fascinating, totally destroyed.
It is not easy to know which can go together.
A. Sometimes there is a logical link between the adverb and the adjective. Match and adverb in column A
with and adjective in column B.
A
B
fully
disappointed
deeply
moved
bitterly
simple
perfectly
disturbed
informed
offended
B. Certain intensifying adverbs can only be used with gradable adjectives. Which of the adverbs in column
A and the adjectives in column B go together?
A
B
relieved
important
simple
greatly
annoyed
terribly
impressed
disappointed
offended
C. Certain adjectives (called limit adjectives) already have very strong meanings. For example, exhausted
means very tired. To intensify a limit adjective, we need an extreme adverb. This is why we cannot say
* very exhausted.
Which of the adverbs in column A and the adjectives in column B go together? Sometimes more than one
adverb is possible.
A
B
delighted
disgusted
absolutely
convinced
totally
appalled
utterly
determined
quite
obvious
amazed
untrue
ONOMATOPOEIC WORDS
What or who does the following? Use dictionaries to check the examples given.
bangs
clicks
crunches

howls
shrieks
taps

blares
crawckles
gasps

plops
squeaks
thumps

chimes
creaks
groans.

roars
squelches

10. The gaps in this passage can be filled by one or two (but not all three) of the words that follow in
brackets. Decide which are possible.
She crept quietly down the stairs and along the hall. The floorboard (a).............
(squeaked/crunched/creaked) and hear heart (b)............ (tapped/thumped/groaned0 inside her chest.
However, the television was (c).............(roaring/blaring/shrieking/ in the living room, so they didn't hear her.
She reached the front door. As usual, it was locked. She turned the old iron key, and the lock (d)..........

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(tapped/clicked/crunched) back. As she opened the door, a sudden gust of wind blew it back against the
wall with a (e).........(gasp/plop/bang). She (f)........... (gasped/groaned/shrieked) with fear, and waited to
hear her father's angry voice. Seconds passed, and still only the (g)...... (howls/shrieks/blares) of laughter
came from the Saturday night quiz show they were watching. She hurried out into the stormy night. The
mighty wind (h)........ (cracked/roared/howled) through the trees, causing the branches to (i).........
(groan/creak/tap). It had only just stopped raining, and her feet (j)....... (squelched/crunched/plopped) in the
mud as she ran across the lawn and out of the gate at the back of the house. Now the heels of her shoes
(k)...... (clicked/thumped/tapped) even more quickly along the pavement. She felt her sense of freedom
growing. The church clock (l)......... (blared/tapped/chimed) eleven o'clock. In a few more minutes she
would be in her lover's arms, and they would journey into the future together.
Seminar 9:
1. Find archaisms (lexical, phonetic and grammatical) in the following fragment from Shakespeare's
Macbeth:
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.
Enter Lady Macbeth.
Lady. My hands are of your color, but I shame
To wear a heart so white. (Knock). I hear a knocking
At the south entry. Retire we to our chamber.
A little water clears us with deed.
How easy it is then! Your constancy
Hath left you unattended. (Knock.) Hark! more knocking.
Get on your nightgown, lest occasion calls us
And show us to be watchers. Be not lost
So poorly in our thoughts.
Macbeth. To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself.
Knock.
Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst.
Exeunt.
2. Can you guess the meanings of the following neologisms? If not, look the words up in a dictionary.
Note: some of the neologisms are colloquial, some others scientific.
automall, joe, data capture, DDT, golden shares, the shaft, rock and roll, sandwich generation, jet set, icon,
bubble, to awfulize, I'm sideways, to shoot oneself in the foot, rice burner.
3. Find examples of English 'barbarisms' in Romanian.
4. Formal vs. informal (colloquial) English. Here are two jumbled letters. One is written to a hotel, and
the other to a friend. Decide which sentences go with which letter, and put them in the right order. How
does formal English differ from the informal (colloquial) language?
Letter to a friend
Letter to a hotel
a) I would like a single room with a shower.
b) I'm writing to ask you a favour.
c) I don't mind where you put me. I'll sleep anywhere!
d) I have a further request.
e) I would like to make a reservation for the nights of 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of January.
f) I hope the above is convenient.
g) Write soon and let me know.
h) I'm coming down to London at the end of the month to go to a conference.
i) Could I have a bite to eat when I arrive?
j) I hope you are all well, and that you've recovered from the busy Christmas period.

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k) I would be extremely grateful.

l) Could I possibly have a room at the back, as I find the front rooms rather noisy?
m) Could you put me up for a few days?
n) Just a sandwich will do.
o) I look forward to your reply.
p) It's the 22nd - 24th January.
q) As I will be arriving quite late, could you possibly put a cold buffet in my room on the 22nd?
r) I hope that's right.
s) There's something else I'd like to ask you.
5. For the following examples of formal style, say how they may be expressed in a more neutral style.
a. Diners are requested to refrain from smoking in this section of the restaurant.
b. Please vacate this seat should an elderly or infirm person require it.
c. Should the goods not meet with your entire satisfaction, please return them starting date and place of
purchase, and we will gladly refund you.
d. In the event of fire, proceed to the nearest exit point.
6. Match the Standard English words with their dialectal equivalents:
Standard
Dialectal
a. ear
1. coomb (Wlesh)
b. pumps
2. backend (Northern dialect)
c. to play
3. bairn (Northern dialect)
d. autumn
4. brock (Welsh)
e. child
5. sandshoes (Scottish)
f. badger
6. to lake (Lower Northern dialect)
g. cake
7. tor (Welsh)
h. peak
8. bannock
i. valley
9. lug (Scottish)
Seminar 10
I. IDIOMS
1. Colours love to be used idiomatically. Complete the following idioms with one colour term:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

He was ........ with envy as he watched hid friend riding his new bike.
When his father5 told him later he couldn't have a new bike, he went ...... with rage.
I'm all .......and..... after being in that crowded underground train for half an hour.
The student went as...... as a beetroot when the lecturer gave her one of his famous ..... looks.
You can be sure to find quite a few .......movies in that ......light district.
I can't really believe that Nero was as ....... as he is painted.
7. I felt sorry for those ...... recruits, getting Sergeant 'Squash 'em Sanders on their first day.
8. You're .......! You're just afraid of what your wife will do to you if you do.
9. I feel so ..... when I see you, hand-in-hand with another man.
10. My fingers were ........ with cold and I imagine my face was as .......... as a sheet.
11. I'll need your resignation in ... and ..... of course.
12. She came out of that ...... comedy about making pies from murder victims with her face a ghastly
shade of ......
13. You've got to stop looking at the world through ...... tinted spectacles, stop considering these matters
in terms of ...... and ....., and start realising there's a huge ......... area in between.
14. My father-in-law was hundreds of pounds in the ....... after paying for our splendid .......wedding.

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2. Each of the concepts below can be expressed with a word or phrase that includes the colour given. See
if you can find the correct idiom.
Black
1. a person who refuses his union's instruction to strike
2. a member of the family who fails to live up to the other's standards
3. illegitimate trading, perhaps of goods in short supply
4. a number of people under suspicion, or in danger of unfavourable treatment
Red
5. caught in the act, in the middle of a crime
6. a special, very important occasion
7. an excessive amount of bureaucracy
8. a very special welcome for a very special guest
Blue
9. very rarely
10. suddenly and unexpectedly
11. those doing manual, not clerical or administrative work
12. someone of noble birth, an aristocrat
3. Look at the way students have expressed themselves in the sentences below. In each case, can you
suggest an idiomatic expression that would be appropriate?
e.g. When he told me women are not allowed on the underground, I knew he was having a joke with me. (=
to pull someone's leg)
1. In England, it is very bad to go in front of someone else in the queue.
2. Can you take me in your car to the station?
3. I was so tired when I went to bed last night that I slept immediately.
4. You are wearing your jumper the wrong way; I can see the label.
5. I had a terrible accident and my car was completely damaged.
6. Parents sometimes get angry because their children do not thank them for their work.
7. I can only study in England for one month so it is important for me to take advantage of the time.
8. I know a little hotel. It's an un usual place and not many people go there, but it's very nice.

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