Archaic words

It is a well-known fact that the word-stock of any language is constantly changing and renewing. Old words die and new words appear. Before disap­pearing, a word undergoes the stages of being obsolescent, obsolete and ar­chaic. The beginning of the aging process of a word is marked by decrease in its usage. The term 'archaisms' (from the Greek archaios 'ancient') denotes words which are practically out of use in present-day language and are felt to be obsolete, recalling bygone eras.

Rarely used words are called obsolescent. To English obsolescent words belong the pronoun though and its forms thee, thy and thine, the verbs with the ending -est (though makest) and the ending -th (he maketh), and other historical survivals. Obsolete words have gone completely out of usage though they are still recognized by the native speakers (methinks = it seems to me; nay = no). Archaic words belong to Old English and are not recognized nowadays. The main function of old words is to create a realistic background to historical works of literature.

Archaisms are stylistically heterogeneous. They are usually thought to pertain to the upper strata of the vocabulary. As a general view this opinion is correct, but only with reference to the lexical units which, though obsolete, are not completely out of use. A high-flown archaic word must be popular enough not to become quite a stranger to the modern linguistic perception; besides, its meaning, its denotation must not collide with its highly positive connotation. Thus, the well-known pronominal forms thou, thee, ye or the words like knight, hauberk (кольчуга), main (= ocean), etc. are high-flown archaisms. This is, however, hardly the case with words practically unknown to the public at large: they may produce the opposite stylistic impression, that of degradation (for detailed treatment see below).

Archaic words should not be confused with historic words. According to Prof. Morokhovsky, archaic words are old words for denoting still existing objects and concepts. They have synonyms in Modern English, which oust the word in question (very often, a loan word). Thus, the noun main has been replaced by ocean; the verb to deem, by to consider, etc.

Historic words, on the other hand, denote already non-existing objects or concepts, which dropped out from realities of present-day life. One of the reasons why words disappear is the disappearance of their referents, i.e. the objects they denoted. Such archaisms are called 'material archaisms', or 'historical archaisms', such as yeoman, hauberk and the like.

The use of archaic words in fiction, for instance, in historical novels, serves to characterize the speech of the times, to reproduce its atmosphere, its couleur historique ('historical colour'). Numerous archaisms can be found in Walter Scott's novels (in the following examples the reader will find lexical archaisms, as well as archaic grammatical forms):

"Nay, we question you not," said the burgher; "although hark ye — I say, hark in your ear — my name is Pavilion."

"... methinks it might satisfy you that I am trustworthy."

"Prithee, do me so much favour, as to inquire after my as­trologer, Martinys Galeotti, and send him hither to me presently."

" I will, without fail, my Liege," answered the jester, "and I wot well I shall find him at Dopplethur's." (Scott)

Archaization of the works of fiction does not mean complete repro­duction of the speech of the past; it is effected by occasional use of archaic words and archaic forms.

More often than not, archaization is relative. So, in his description of twelfth century events, Walter Scott resorts to words which existed not in the twelfth, but in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (the words nay, methinks, prithee, etc.). The use of twelfth century words is completely out of the question: the modern reader simply would not understand them. Still more conventional is the use of archaic words in the satirical novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, by Mark Twain, depicting the events of the fourth century A.D. We know that the English language did not exist at that time (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded the British Isles at the beginning of the fifth century, in 410). King Arthur and his subjects spoke Celtic, not English; yet the couleur historique is created by the use of English archaisms (words of the sixteenth century). A similar, though somewhat more complicated, function is performed by archaic words in the Old Curiosity Shop by Ch. Dickens

Archaic words are used to:

- to create an effect of antiquity;

- to provide a true-to-life/realistic/authentic historical background;

- to acquaint the reader with past habits, customs;

- to create the spirit of the earlier periods

- to create/imitate an atmosphere of the historical epoch;

- to achieve authenticity in describing a historic epoch

Bookish words.

The epithet 'bookish' implies a very wide sphere of communication. According to Yu. Screbnev, words traditionally referred to as 'bookish' occupy, as a matter of fact, the whole of the upper part of the stylistic scale: some of them are only slightly above the neutral sphere; others belong to the medial sphere; many bookish words are excessively high-flown.

Bookish words are mainly used in books and in oral polished speech (public speeches, official negotiations). E.g.:

commence = begin

respond = answer

hibernal = wintry

to hibernate = 1. to spend the winter in a sleeping state (of animals)

2. to spend the winter in the mild climate (of people)

In the famous story “The Cop and the Anthem” O.Henry uses another bookish word of the same root, a derived adjective to describe his miserable character’s reflections concerning the approach of winter: The hibernatorial ambitions of Soapy were not of the highest … Three months on the Island was what his soul cra ved.

Bookish words - are mostly loan words (Latin and Greek).

“To plunge into the refreshing wave and be wrapped round with the liquid element is indeed a most delightful sensation. But health and pleasure may equally consulted in these salutary ablutions; and to many a man countenance can be the blush of the rose be restored by an occasional dip in the purifying surge of the ocean.” (J. Austin Sandion)

The impropriety of using learned words in everyday conversation creates a humorous effect.

Bookish words are used in the text to:

- to cerate the tone of solemnity, sophistication, seriousness, learnedness;

- to give speech characteristics;

- to indicate the social standing of the character, his/her education;

- being used in colloquial speech /informal situation they may create a comical effect

For example, in the following passages, humorist Russell Baker lampoons contemporary rhetoric. The humorous effect is achieved due to the use of pretentious and euphemistic language in the form of bookish words:

Once upon a point in time, a small person named Little Red Riding Hood initiated plans for the preparation, delivery and transportation of foodstuffs to her grandmother, a senior citizen residing at a place of residence in a forest of indeterminate dimension.

In the process of implementing this program, her incursion into the forest was in mid-transportation process when it attained interface with an alleged perpetrator. This individual, a wolf, made inquiry as to the whereabouts of Little Red Riding Hood's goal as well as inferring that he was desirous of ascertaining the contents of Little Red Riding Hood's foodstuffs basket. ….

"Grandmother," Little Red said upon entering, "your ocular implements appear to be of an extraordinary order of magnitude today."

"In reference to your ears," said Red, "may I note with the deepest respect that far from being petite, their elongation and enlargement appear to qualify you for unparalleled distinction."

"If it is not inappropriate it might be observed that with your new miracle masticating dentures you may once again be able to chew taffy."

“Little red Riding Hood”. (Russel Baker, Little Red Riding Hood Revisited)

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