In Russian, active and passive vocabulary is distinguished. The first consists of words that each of us uses almost daily; the second group includes words rarely used in speech. These include archaisms, historicisms, neologisms. Their study takes place in the section "Vocabulary and Lexicology".
Active and passive vocabulary
The vocabulary of the Russian language has millions of words. Linguists divide all the words of the Russian language into two large groups - active vocabulary and passive.
Passive vocabulary includes words that are familiar to or recognizable to a person, but are rarely used. Here archaisms, historicisms, neologisms are distinguished.
Active vocabulary includes words that we use quite often. These include conjunctions and pronouns, words with which we designate the world around us. This is the name of furniture, clothing, products, words for family relationships, professions, names of emotions and many others.
The active and passive vocabulary of each person is individual and depends on age, place of residence, professional activity. Throughout our life, its volume changes in one direction or another, depending on a number of factors.
Passive vocabulary
Passive vocabulary includes obsolete and new words.
Among obsolete words, two main groups are distinguished: archaisms and historicisms. We will talk about them in the first place, consider the definition, the function that archaisms and historicisms perform , examples of the most common words.
New words make up a much smaller part of the passive supply of language and are called neologisms. Next, we will analyze their concept and causes of occurrence in speech.
Archaisms
To begin with, we will analyze outdated words - archaisms and historicisms. Archaisms are obsolete words that are currently obsolete. These are old names for modern objects or names. Often, archaisms are replaced by other words that name the same concepts and objects as the obsolete word. Each of them has a modern analogue, in other words, a synonym word.
Depending on the method of formation, archaisms are:
- Lexical ones that have been replaced by words that have other roots. These words are difficult to understand without knowing their translation or original meaning. These include words such as mouth - lips, finger - finger, interpreter - translator.
- Lexical-derivational. In this situation, archaism and its modern version have one root, but differ in word-building morphemes. For example, an acquaintance is an acquaintance, a fisherman is a fisherman.
- Lexico-phonetic - differ from the modern version in phonetic design. For example, piite is a poet, history is history, number is number.
- Lexical and semantic. This includes archaisms that still function in the language, while having a different meaning. For example, the word shame previously meant a sight , today, shame or dishonor.
At the end of the article, we will consider the role of archaisms in the Russian language, especially literature. Archaisms are recorded in explanatory dictionaries marked "obsolete."
History
Historisms call words that are used to refer to words and objects that existed before, but have already disappeared from our lives. Istorisms, examples of which we find most often in the literature, are city, station ranger, pood and so on. These concepts function today in historical works and chronicles, old books and newspapers.
Historisms include words that denoted the social way of life, the name of institutions, persons and positions, military ranks, items and weapons, ancient units, currency, household items. For example: a tavern, a caftan, a mace, an altyn, a serf, a mayor, a gunner.
It is important to note that historicisms have no synonyms. This is very important to remember, as this is one of the hallmarks of historicism.
The words-historicisms are also included in the explanatory dictionaries marked "obsolete", less often "ist". Various dictionaries of historicisms are also published, where you can see not only the meaning of the word, but also get acquainted with the image of the subject, which denotes the concept.
History and archaisms: a difference in concepts
Quite often, pupils and students, and just people who are not connected with philology, the question arises: how do archaisms differ from historicisms? The main difference is that archaism is an obsolete designation of an object or concept that is still present in our lives. Historicism denotes concepts and objects that are long out of use.
As already noted, another distinguishing feature - archaisms have synonyms, historicisms - no. Based on these two distinctive features, you can easily calculate which category an obsolete word belongs to.
Neologisms
Neologisms are words that appear as a result of the emergence of new phenomena or concepts. For some time the word is considered neologism, later it becomes common and is included in the active vocabulary of the language.
Neologisms can either arise due to the development of technology, or go beyond the pen of the authors. So, the author of the word “brush off” was F. M. Dostoevsky, and N. M. Karamzin introduced the word “industry” into the vocabulary. Based on this, author and general language neologisms are distinguished.
In different periods, neologisms were words such as a car, a rocket, a laptop, an email, and many others. When the use of neologisms reaches its peak and their meaning becomes clear to everyone, these words automatically go into the category of commonly used.
If historicisms and archaisms are fixed in dictionaries with special marks, then neologisms enter the dictionaries only after they enter the active supply of the linguistic system. True, in recent years they began to publish special dictionaries of neologisms.
Causes of occurrence
We have examined archaisms, historicisms, neologisms. Now a few words about the causes of their occurrence.
The reasons for the transition of words from active to passive vocabulary have not yet been studied in detail. And if everything is more or less clear with historicisms, since after the disappearance of a concept, the word denoting it goes into a passive reserve, then with archaisms everything is much more complicated.
The following causes of archaisms are most often called: various social changes, cultural factors, various linguistic reasons - the influence of other languages, stylistic connections, language reforms.
The main reasons for the appearance of neologisms include:
- various changes in the social life of society;
- technological progress, that is, the emergence of new objects, concepts and phenomena.
Today, most neologisms are associated with the development of computer science and computer technology.
Stylistic meaning
A few words about the stylistic role of words included in the passive vocabulary of the Russian language. The most frequently used data are groups of words in fiction.
Thus, the use of archaisms helps the writer to more accurately recreate the described era, to characterize the character with his speech. Surely you noticed that in the speech of some characters one vocabulary prevails, for example, more modern, in the speech of others - another, obsolete or dialectic. Thus, the writer draws a psychological and social portrait of the character.
They are also used in poetic speech to give a more solemn, sublime coloring to the work. In satire, archaisms serve to create a comic or satirical effect, giving irony.
Studying at school
Partially archaisms, historicisms, neologisms are studied at school, in the lessons of the Russian language and literature. Usually, acquaintance with this class of words occurs in the fifth and tenth grades when studying the “Lexicology” section. Pupils are taught to distinguish words, to find them in texts of various kinds. In addition, when studying the works of classics, we come across unfamiliar words that have long since become obsolete, get acquainted with their meaning, origin.
University study
A more detailed acquaintance with the active and passive vocabulary of the Russian language begins at universities when studying the section "Lexicology". Often this happens in the second year, at the Faculty of Philology. Students are taught how archaisms differ from historicisms, how and where exactly you can find the meaning of these words, how to classify them according to their origin, to determine the function in certain texts.
Students can compose their own dictionaries, learn to find passive vocabulary in texts and replace it, analyze the origin of neologisms, the reasons for the disappearance of words from the active routine of native Russian literary speakers.
conclusions
The passive vocabulary of the Russian language includes the following groups of lexemes: archaisms - obsolete names of words and concepts, historicisms - the names of objects and phenomena that have left our everyday life, neologisms - words that are used to denote new concepts.
Obsolete words are used in fiction when writing historical texts to recreate the atmosphere described in a work of time.